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Dec 16, 2018 · This particular case centered around Sylvia Hamalaine, (unpleasantly only a teeneager at the time) who’d come to Hollywood to seek her fortune and shared an apartment with dress designer, Virginia Lopez. The juvenile was allegedly molested, somewhere, by a man named Adolphe LaRue with Ms. Lopez also present and apparently a participant.
Jul 26, 2016 · In 1942, Atwill was indicted for perjury by a jury investigating the 1941 proceeding of a grand jury relative to the alleged occurrence of a sex orgy at his home that included stag films and an alleged rape. A 16-year old girl named Sylvia Hamalaine claimed she was abused by several celebrities at the party.
- The First Investigation Into Misconduct
- Allegation of Protecting Film Industry from Assault Claims
- Lionel Atwill Named in Sex Abuse Case
- Atwill Denies All Accusations and Gives Testimony
- The Second Investigation
- Lionel Atwill Indicted with Perjury Charges
- Witness Threatened Not to Testify
- Atwill Enters Guilt Plea to Perjury Over ‘Immoral Films’
- Conviction Squashed and Wife Sues For Divorce
- Lionel Atwill Dies Aged 61 Years Old
On Thursday, 8 May 1940, the Los Angeles county grand jury began an investigation into claims that a 16-year old girl named Sylvia Hamalaine was mistreated by a number of film celebrities. Thirteen subpoenas had been issued to both men and women, many prominent within the movie industry. By the time the jury began taking testimony in early May, how...
Lopez’s attorney, Donald MacKay, charged that “members of the district attorney’s office seem to be very anxious to protect certain people in the film industry from involvement,” in the scandal. Talking of the alleged parties he added, “I would like to show that far worse things happened to her [Hamalaine] at the hands of others than occurred at th...
Any speculation over the actor host’s identity came to an end when McKay then asked, “And were you embarrassed when you cavorted in the nude at the home of Lionel Atwill last December in front of six people – three of whom you never had seen before?”, MacKay asked. The District Attorney Silas E. Roll, objected. “The Atwill party is now before the g...
On the 21 May, Lionel Atwill appeared before the grand jury. He was wearing a black armband in mourning for his son, John Anthony Atwill, 21, who had recently been killed in action with the R.A.F. The actor spent three hours before the jury and, upon leaving the court, he announced, “I have returned from New York to testify voluntary, and intend to...
A little over a year later, on the 11 June 1942, Lionel Atwill appeared again before the county grand jury, this time in a secret reinvestigation into Sylvia Hamalaine’s charges. On the advice of his attorney, George Stahlman, Atwill refused to testify concerning the charges. He was promptly excused. Members of the new 1942 grand jury, in office fo...
On Tuesday, 30 June, Atwill spent more than an hour before the jury at the end of which he was indicted with charges of perjury while testifying before the 1941 grand jury. His bail was set at $1,000. Atwill’s attorney, Isaac Pacht issued a statement which said, in part: “The charge against Mr Atwill was thoroughly investigated by a previous grand ...
The actress told police that she had received threats of bodily harm during the inquiry and that since Atwill’s indictment she had, on at least four occasions, received threatening phone calls from unidentified men. “The callers spoke very vulgarly and nastily, telling me that if I did not leave town ‘something would happen’,” she said. “I am afrai...
On 24 September, Lionel Atwill entered a guilty plea to one count of perjury in connection with his previous denial that he had ever owned or exhibited immoral motion pictures (he had admitted possessing ‘improper films’ but stated these had been exhibited at a gathering not touched by the investigations). His attorney, Issac Pacht, told Superior J...
On 23 April, after studying the actor’s employment status, Judge McKay made an unusual decision: he gave gave Atwill permission to change his plea from guilty to not guilty—and then promptly dismissed the perjury indictment against him. “You are now in the position where you can truly say you have not been convicted of a felony,” the Judge told the...
On 22 April 1946, six months after his wife presented him with a baby boy, Lionel Jr, Atwill died at his Pacific Palisades home. The cause of death was reported as pneumonia. He was 61 years old. These court cases constitute a scandal that has never gone away, which is a pity. For Lionel Atwill deserves to be remembered for better things – and not ...
- Stephen Jacobs
Apr 21, 2016 · The case centred around teenager Sylvia Hamalaine who’d come to Hollywood to seek her fortune and shared an apartment with dress designer, Virginia Lopez, when the juvenile was allegedly molested, with a man by the name of Adolphe LaRue also present.
- Ian Champion
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Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/121744329/sylvia_m-hamalaine: accessed ), memorial page for Sylvia M Hamalaine (1899–1924), Find a Grave Memorial ID 121744329, citing Riverside Cemetery, Rochester, Monroe County, New York, USA; Maintained by Sally - Midcoast Maine (contributor 48138595).
- Rochester, New York
HOLLYWOOD, May 16. Virginia Lopez, 32, Cuban fashion designer, today was sentenced to a year in jail for contributing to the delinquency of Sylvia Hamalaine, 16-year-old Minnesota girl who is involved in an investigation of “wild parties” supposedly held in the home of a prominent movie star.
Though he had no involvement in the suspected rape of 16 year-old Sylvia Hamalaine, and the foreman of the jury acquitted the defendants on lack of evidence, Atwill knew he had lied about showing blue movies to guests at his house.
