Former Disney Channel star sues studio, alleging repeated sexual assault at age 14

A former Disney Channel actress has filed a civil lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company, alleging that an adult male employee sexually assaulted her repeatedly when she was 14 years old during production of a 2001 made-for-TV movie — and that studio executives ignored clear warning signs of abuse.

Raquel Lee Bolleau, now 39, filed the negligence lawsuit Aug. 21 in Los Angeles County Superior Court over her experience filming “The Poof Point,” a Disney Channel Original Movie shot in Salt Lake City and released later that year. The complaint accuses Disney of negligence, negligent hiring and supervision, and premises liability.

The suit identifies the alleged abuser only as “John Doe,” describing him as a middle-aged Disney employee more than twice Ms. Bolleau’s age at the time. According to the complaint, both Disney personnel and the film’s director, Neal Israel, directed Ms. Bolleau to “bond with, get close to and trust” the man. Ms. Bolleau alleges he then supplied her with alcohol and repeatedly sexually assaulted her during filming, telling her afterward, “You’re old enough. You can handle it.”

Ms. Bolleau claims she returned to set smelling of alcohol, vomiting and visibly changed, but that Disney personnel never investigated how a 14-year-old obtained alcohol or sought her medical care. Instead, the complaint states, an executive branded her “out of control,” said the production had gone “haywire,” and told her representatives the studio was “extremely upset.” On another occasion, an on-set executive producer allegedly told Bolleau she “need[ed] Jesus” and told her mother that her daughter “has a demon inside her.”

The lawsuit also invokes California rules requiring that a guardian of a performer under 16 remain within sight or sound of the child — a protection Ms. Bolleau’s attorneys argue should have applied despite the film shooting on location in Utah. Ms. Bolleau alleges Disney repeatedly separated her from her guardian anyway, with production personnel telling her guardian at one point, “We do not even need you on set.” She claims that arrangement left her without adequate supervision and gave her alleged abuser unrestricted access to her.

Beyond the alleged assaults during filming, Bolleau claims the abuse continued after production wrapped, including during a flight back to California, when Disney booked her in first class while seating her guardian in economy. She alleges the employee assaulted her in her seat, continuing until the flight landed at Los Angeles International Airport.

“Instead of protecting and supporting its minor employee who was being repeatedly raped, sexually assaulted, sexually abused, and harassed, Disney covered up Mr. Doe’s abuse, and blamed Ms. Bolleau for the impact of Mr. Doe’s horrific misconduct,” Bolleau’s attorneys, Doug Wigdor and Jane Kim, wrote in the complaint. The suit further alleges the episode reflects “a broader, institutional, and systemic pattern” at Disney “that extends far beyond ’The Poof Point.’”

Ms. Bolleau is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, along with attorneys’ fees, costs and interest. The lawsuit lands roughly 25 years after the alleged assaults. A 2020 California law allows survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil claims up to their 40th birthday, and a 2023 amendment eliminated the statute of limitations entirely for claims filed on or after Jan. 1, 2024. Bolleau, 39, filed within that window.

Ms. Bolleau began her career as a child actor, appearing on “Malcolm & Eddie” before a breakout role on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show,” where she was a regular performer alongside Amanda Bynes during its first season. She later moved into Disney projects, playing Marie in “The Poof Point” and voicing Nubia Gross on “The Proud Family” from 2001 to 2005, a role she reprised in the Disney+ revival “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.” Ms. Bolleau claims Disney canceled another planned role for her following the alleged 2001 assault.