'Home Alone' actor under investigation for rape

New York authorities are investigating a rape allegation against actor Devin Ratray, best known for playing the older brother in the Home Alone films, reports CNN.

He pleaded not guilty in this case. The hearing is scheduled for October.

It was the news of Ratray's arrest in Oklahoma that prompted Lisa Smith to contact prosecutors about a police report she filed in 2017. Lisa accused the actor of raping her in New York. She wanted to know why her case was not considered. Prosecutors, she said, mistakenly believed that she wanted to remain anonymous and did not want to press charges. As a result, the case was closed.

Smith, she said, was devastated that the authorities failed to investigate her allegations at the time. She provided emails indicating that the case was closed, although she took steps to cooperate with the investigation by visiting from out of state. And then provided the clothes she was wearing on the night of the attack for possible DNA testing.
The NYPD declined to answer questions about the progress of the case.

On the subject: Raped and then escorted home: NYPD is looking for a strange criminal

A spokesman for the district attorney's office confirmed they were in touch with Smith, but declined to discuss the progress of the case. The emails show that the prosecutor recently approached Smith for information, requested phone and text records, and contacted potential witnesses.

Ratray was not charged with any charges related to Smith's allegations.

When CNN called last week, Ratray, 45, said he remembers an evening with Smith almost five years ago. But he denies her allegations of rape. "We didn't have sex," he assured.
Ratray's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

Ratray, who played Macaulay Culkin's older brother in both the 1990 film Home Alone and its 1992 sequel, has a long acting career. He has appeared in many films and television shows, including an episode of Better Call Saul last month.

What Smith Says Really Happened

Smith revealed that she had been friends with the actor for about 15 years prior to the alleged attack on September 21, 2017. That evening, she met her brother, another friend, and Ratray at a bar in New York. The group later went to Ratray's Manhattan apartment for more drinks.
Ratray poured drinks for his friends, but seemed to intend to give her a special glass. When Smith drank the drink, she felt tired. Ratray advised her to stay and sleep on his couch.

She believes she was drugged.
“I remember waking up and not being able to move. I couldn't really open my eyes, but I could hear and feel what was happening. Those two left, and I was still lying on the couch, ”recalls Smith.

Ratray sexually abused her for what she called "an eternity."
In the end, he left her alone on the couch. The next day, around 14:00 pm, Smith was able to move enough to put on her clothes and leave the apartment.
At first, the victim did not want to report the rape, because she had already been attacked by another man once. And she remembered that the police treated her badly when she filed a complaint and went for examination. An NYPD source confirmed her past appeal.

The day after Ratray attacked her, Smith told a friend, her sister, and one of her brothers about what had happened. All three people confirmed that Smith told them about the incident at the time. As her brother said, he feels guilty for leaving his sister sleeping on Ratray's couch. Smith's sister and two of her friends confirmed that they were recently contacted by the district attorney about the case.

The day after the alleged attack, Smith contacted Ratray via text message to meet him face to face. According to her, Ratray denied the attack. Smith no longer has the texts, but the transcripts of the alleged messages were in a separate text exchange between Smith and her sister.
Ratray tried to present the incident as a consensual meeting. But he said he couldn't have sex because he was "impotent".

The police decided to intervene

A few weeks after the attack on Smith, who had moved to Utah, a friend advised her to file a police report, which she did.
An NYPD detective flew to Salt Lake City to take a statement from her in November 2017. In a report filed on January 4, the detective ticked a box indicating that Smith did not want to prosecute. However, Smith said she flew to New York to meet with the Manhattan District Attorney's office. According to Smith, she never heard from the district attorney, and this made her "sad" at the lack of further communication.

In the fall of 2018, almost a year after Smith first reported the attack to the NYPD, she stumbled across a trash can filled with the clothes she had been wearing on the night of the alleged attack. In particular, the sweater could contain traces of DNA. She told an NYPD detective about her discovery and mailed the clothes to him. Lisa hasn't heard from the detective since she sent him the clothes. When contacted by CNN, the detective who originally met Smith declined to comment.

Smith cited efforts to assist the investigation as evidence of her desire to bring her assailant to justice.
“Why would I even meet with the DA all those years ago if I didn’t want to press charges? All this made me very upset, ”she admitted.
After Ratray's arrest for domestic violence last year, Smith said a friend emailed her with updates on the case. She said this prompted her to contact the authorities and CNN.

“Seeing that he was accused of assaulting someone else, I realized that I needed to do everything possible to prevent him from hurting even more women,” Lisa explained.
In May, Smith said she met with a prosecutor from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office of Sexual Crime Unit. According to her, he apologized for the way her case was handled.
The prosecutor remarked to Smith that she “should have at least been consulted by the victims,” she recalled. When he said that, I started crying. It was the first time anyone acknowledged how deeply I suffered or that I was traumatized.”