‘Mythbusters’ Star Adam Savage Being Sued by Sister For Alleged Childhood Sexual Assault

Reports about sexual assault can get really complicated. For example, The New York Post reported that Mythbusters Star Adam Savage is being sued by his sister for childhood sexual assault that allegedly occurred over a three-year period starting when she was seven and he was nine.

“Beginning in or about 1976 and continuing until approximately 1979, Adam Savage, would repeatedly rape Miranda Pacchiana and force oral sex upon her, and forced Miranda to perform oral sex on him, along with other forms of sexual abuse,” says her lawsuit, filed in Westchester Supreme Court.

The suit says Savage, who was between 9 and 12 years old at the time, would prevent Pacchiana from leaving the bed and anally rape her.

He allegedly nicknamed himself the “raping blob” while masking the abuse as a game, according to the complaint.

Okay, so let’s talk about this. For starters, Savage denies the accusations.

“While I hope that my sister gets the help she needs to find peace, this needs to end. For many years, she has relentlessly and falsely attacked me and other members of my family to anyone who will listen,” Savage said. “By spreading numerous untrue stories about us in pursuit of a financial bonanza, she has tortured our entire family and estranged herself from all of us. I will fight this groundless and offensive lawsuit and work to put this to rest once and for all.”

Their mother also says the allegations are untrue, saying her daughter has “severe mental health problems.”

So what does this case mean? Well, first of all, even if the allegations are true, I think you will be hard-pressed to find a jury willing to issue monetary damages to someone based on a person’s behavior 40-some years ago when they were nine.

Second, and more importantly, the sort of behavior Savage’s sister alleges is the kind of behavior you can expect from a victim of child sex abuse. Nine-year-olds don’t just rape people because they’re rapists, they’re nine, they don’t understand the morality or consequences of sex, that’s the whole reason we have age of consent laws.

That said, even if it’s true, a lawsuit against your brother who was a child at the time seems like an odd way to resolve the issue. It does make it seem less plausible, no one in the world is going to read this and think it reflects on the person Adam Savage is as an adult if they believe it, which, again… seems unlikely.