The Atlantic also digs into the story of the Digital Entertainment Network, a Hollywood start-up Singer invested in around the time he began shooting his first X-Men movie. Its goal, the Atlantic writes, was to produce “shows and movies for 14-to-24-year-olds, with an emphasis on stories for gay teens, and distribute them online.” The start-up’s C.E.O. was Marc Collins-Rector; his co-founder was Chad Shackley. Per the Atlantic, their relationship began when Collins-Rector was 32 and Shackley was 16. (In 2000, Collins-Rector was later indicted of transporting a minor, who was not named, across state lines for the purpose of sex; he fled the country and was a fugitive for almost two years, then was arrested in Spain. Authorities “discovered a cache of weapons and 8,000 images of child pornography in the villa where he was living,” the Atlantic notes. He was extradited to the U.S. and pleaded guilty to nine charges of transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of sex.)
Per subsequent lawsuits, criminal complaints, and a federal investigation, the Atlantic notes, the Encino mansion where DEN was launched became “a party house where teenage boys were allegedly given alcohol and drugs, encouraged to have sex with older men, and in some cases raped.” Singer was not named in any of the suits, but there are accusers who allege that they were abused by him after being brought into the DEN fold.
