Sean Astin backs Corey Feldman's sexual assault claims

'If he knows of specific people and can leverage some legal position to stop evil from happening, God Bless him. I'm proud of Corey'

Corey Feldman, pictured singing in Los Angeles, said he was abused as a child by several men in the film industry (AP)

Sean Astin has come to the support of his friend, and former Goonies co-star, Corey Feldman.

Feldman publicly identified a man he alleges molested him when he was a child film star in the 1980s as Jon Grissom, his former assistant and co-star, during a TV appearance. He had also previously named talent manager Marty Weiss, a convicted child sex offender, as one of his alleged abusers.

He's long spoken of being sexually abused by a Hollywood paedophile ring but has never previously named those responsible. He has now launched a $10m (£7.6m) fundraising drive for a film in which he said he would expose paedophilia in Hollywood and name other alleged abusers.

He stated the money would pay for security for himself and his family and a legal fund, as well as the production and distribution of the film.

Astin said in a statement, posted on TwitLonger, that "Feldman communicated to me at some point, what some of his experiences were." He explained the two were never particularly close, but have remained friends, and that it pained him to witness his co-star's struggles with drugs and alcohol, and the lack of support he was offered by the adults around him.

"I've been communicating regularly with my friend and I've been rooting for him and dreading that he will suffer more in some way as a function of following his dream, pursuing his truth and staying focused on the mission he believes he was put on this earth to accomplish," he said.

He noted that Feldman has his "friendship and my loyalty", but that he won't blindly support everything the actor does; that his is "reasoned, careful support".

"If he knows of specific people and can leverage some legal position to stop evil from happening, God Bless him. I'm proud of Corey," Astin added.

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