Abused Hey, Dad! child kept silent by powerful man

Former child star Sarah Monahan has spoken about her alleged abuse on the set of Hey, Dad!

Monahan was interviewed in the US by A Current Affair where she is now resident. She was composed as she reflected on her years on the show, as first revealed in a magazine last week. She did not name her perpetrator or indicate whether he was off or on-screen personnel.

“It started when I was really little,” she said.

“Right off the bat. I remember right from the pilot.

“He would touch my boobs, or because I was always on his lap he would touch my *** and put his hand right here.”

Monahan said he was always trying to tickle her.

“He would be on the bed trying to touch you and I was always trying to get out.”

During recording breaks the set would be quiet but it left open opportunities for the man to approach her.

“So between the two shows if you were out the back, he’d suddenly appear.”

She said he also exposed himself. Her school teachers wanted her to see a psychiatrist, suspicious by the fact she could draw “perfect” penises.

“It’s not like he raped me, but it was wrong,” she said.

The abuse took place over five years, but Monahan said she was not the only victim.

“I was the smallest. But the others are still not going to speak about it.

“You see people in their 40s having mental breakdowns because there’s just so much pressure. I think I was at that point where I was probably suicidal.”

Monahan said she was effectively paying the rent for her family which effectively prohibited her from speaking out.

“They say that people don’t know but people knew. It was always ‘Keep it hushed’ because this is the most successful TV show on television. People don’t want to know that.”

By the age of 13 Monahan says she told the man she wasn’t going to put up with the abuse any longer.

“And that’s when he turned mean,” she said.

By 15 years old juggling work commitments, school and the man. She said she was at breaking point and left the show but was forced to keep her secret.

“You can’t tell anyone, you can’t press charges. He’s a very powerful person. It’s ‘He said, She said.’ So basically I left the show, blocked it out and all of these kid stars now are so messed up. It’s not right. People need to stand up. Somebody needs to come out and say ‘You can’t do this to us anymore. We’re not objects here for your pleasure.’

Monahan says she has lived in the US for 10 years so there was no point in reporting it to police.

“In Australia everyone said unless you’ve got physical proof or they caught it oun camera, it’s your word against his. You’re just a little kid.”

At auditions after the she left the series she was questioned by people who had heard the rumours.

“So I knew people knew. But we would always get a phone call: ‘You need to shutup.’ Which is worse, the actual act or the constant barrage of ‘You can’t release this?'”

Monahan now produces television with her husband in the US. Despite appearing composed on camera her message to her alleged perpetrator was clear-cut.

“I think they should definitely burn in hell,” she said. “They should definitely go to jail.”

ACA said NSW Police are now inviting other victims or people with information who may have been involved in this story to come forward.