Charles in Charge's Alexander Polinsky Accuses Scott Baio of Physical Assault & Mental Abuse

By Alexia Fernandez
People
February 7, 2018

http://people.com/tv/alexander-polinsky-accuses-scott-baio-physical-assault/

New allegations against Scott Baio surfaced Wednesday from another one of his Charles in Charge costars: Alexander Polinsky.

Polinsky, 43, provided a statement to The Talk which was read out while Nicole Eggert was on the show to talk about her sexual abuse allegations against the actor.

Eggert said on the show that Polinsky, who played Adam Powell on Charles in Charge, went with her to file to the police station when she filed a report against Baio and Polinsky also made his own police report supporting her allegations.

In addition to supporting the actress’ claims, Polinsky alleged he was physically abused by Baio, 57.

His longtime friend and The Talk host Sara Gilbert became emotional reading his statement on his behalf, explaining, “He’s actually a dear friend of mine.”

“Working on the set of Charles in Charge from age 11 to 15 was no picnic, it was a toxic environment,” Polinsky said in the statement. “I witnessed Scott Baio acting inappropriately towards Nicole Eggert during my first year of working on the show. I walked in on them together behind the set. Nicole was on Scott’s lap and he did not appreciate my intrusion. He yelled at me and called me various homophobic slurs.”

Alexander Polinsky (left) and Scott BaioUnique Nicole/Getty; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

He continued, “Growing up on the show I received regular verbal attacks, mental abuse and I also suffered a physical assault at the hands of Scott Baio. There is no excuse for his behavior. It is abhorrent.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Baio’s representatives for comment on Polinsky’s claims but have yet to receive a response.

“Both Nicole and I were minors. We deserved safe passage to do our jobs and also be kids,” Polinsky added in his statement. “If we want to change the culture, we have to bring out the truth, take back control from the abusers and make them listen to the pain of their victims.”

He added, “For the sake of the next generation of young artists we must empower parents and social workers to heed the signals, ask the proper questions and protect children from monsters in the workplace. The cycle of abuse must stop. Even 30 years after the acts, they still matter.”

Gilbert asked Eggert how old she was when the alleged abuse began to take place, to which she responded, “14-years-old, 1986… and before I was 15-years-old, he had me at his home, in his car, in his garage and he penetrated my vagina with his finger. This is where it began and this continued almost on a weekly basis for years. Of course, the abuse progressed from there quite a bit although I remained a virgin until I was 17.”

Eggert claimed Baio began pursuing her “immediately, as soon as we first started shooting.”

He “started flirting with me,” she said. “I was young, I was supposed to be starting high school and, instead, I was started a TV show.”

Eggert’s attorney Lisa Bloom told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement Wednesday, “Yesterday Nicole Eggert and I met with two police detectives from the sexual assault unit at my law firm. Nicole answered all of their questions for over an hour and told her story of sexual abuse by Scott Baio when she was a minor.”

Eggert’s manager of 15 years David Weintraub added that the actress felt hopeful after her meeting with the detectives.

Nicole Eggert and Scott BaiStewart Cook/REX/Shutterstock; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

“Nicole didn’t know what the statute of limitations was, but apparently the police are doing active investigations into a lot of these high-profile, older cases,” he told THR. “It’s been a very emotional and hard time for Nicole because her credibility and her truth has been questioned. She’s never had to defend what she’s saying so much. Meeting with the police was a groundbreaking moment because Alexander Polinsky also gave his statement. This is her truth.”

Eggert, 46, alleged via Twitter on Jan. 27 that Baio molested her beginning at age 14.

Baio has repeatedly denied Eggert’s claims, calling them “100 [percent] lies.”

“Why would I have a concern over something I didn’t do?” he said on Good Morning America. “Rather than take your case to social media, where people tend to beat up people like me, why not do it through the proper channels? You put up allegations like that, and it becomes like wildfire.”

Baio claimed that though he got along with Eggert, they were “never” alone together on the Charles in Charge set.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been on a sitcom set, but on any given day — on every day, especially Charles in Charge, which was like a picnic every day, it was one of my favorite jobs I’ve ever done — there’s teachers, parents, family, crew, producers, my dad. So how any of this could have happened is absolutely impossible,” he said.