The New York Police Department is investigating embattled Hollywood director Bryan Singer for a forcible sexual assault that was allegedly committed last year against a man in his twenties, an NYPD spokesperson has told BuzzFeed News. 
 
 The 48-year-old Singer, known for directing the X-Men movies, has not been charged with a crime. Whether he ever will be depends largely on what the investigation turns up. Two civil lawsuits accusing Singer of sexual abuse of underage boys have recently been dropped. 
 
 Singer's lawyer, Martin Singer (no relation), wrote in an email, "Neither my client nor any of his representatives have been contacted by the NYPD, or anyone else about an alleged criminal investigation of my client. My client did not engage in any criminal or inappropriate behavior with anyone in New York or elsewhere." He added, "False investigations are filed all the time and no action is taken by the authorities." 
 
 Martin Singer also accused BuzzFeed of conducting "a witch hunt against my client because he is gay" and warned that publishing the story would expose BuzzFeed "to tens of millions of dollars in damages." 
 
 After a tip from a confidential source, BuzzFeed asked the NYPD if it was investigating Bryan Singer over a complaint about sexual assault. "We have a formal compliant [sic] on file for criminal sexual act," NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Royster replied in an email Wednesday. "The complaint was filed on May 9th of this year, however the incident occurred on March 23, 2013. The case is open and being investigated by our Special Victims Squad." 
 
 In a follow-up interview Thursday, Royster said the case involved a male in his twenties who was allegedly forcibly sexually assaulted. She said the suspect is Bryan Singer. She said she could give no more information about the victim because it's a sexual assault case. 
 
 Asked if it is unusual for Singer not to have been contacted, she replied, "I'm not sure of that," adding "not necessarily if you're building a case." 
 
 Told of what Royster said in the follow-up interview, another attorney for Singer, Andrew Brettler, wrote to BuzzFeed, "Your source is obviously not reliable. Less than 12 hours ago, you claimed that our client was being investigated for a criminal sexual act under the statute that covers sex with underage minors. Now you are claiming that the alleged complaining witness is a male in his 20s. Are you going to identify your alleged NYPD source by name in the defamatory story you intend to publish?" 
 
 Deputy Chief Royster is the commanding officer of the NYPD's public information division. 
 
 Under New York law, a criminal sexual act applies to an adult having sex with someone who is underage. The statute also covers sexual acts between adults when, for example, the sex is by "forcible compulsion" or when the victim is incapable of giving consent because he is "physically helpless" or "mentally incapacitated." 
 
 Singer's Twitter feed appears to indicate that he was in the New York City area on March 23, the date of the alleged incident. ||||| ‘X-Men’ director Bryan Singer accused of sexually assaulting 17-year-old boy in 1999 
 
 By Arturo Garcia 
 
 Thursday, April 17, 2014 1:24 EDT 
 
 Bryan Singer, director of The Usual Suspects and the upcoming film X-Men: Days of Future Past, was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy after allegedly plying him with drugs and alcohol on several occasions in 1998 and 1999. 
 
 The Wrap reported Wednesday night that the lawsuit against Singer was filed in federal court in Hawaii. The plaintiff, Michael F. Egan III, was identified in a statement from his attorneys, saying he was 17 when he was introduced to Singer after already being assaulted by another man, former Digital Entertainment Network chair Marc Collins-Rector, at Collins-Rector’s residence in Encino, California. 
 
 The suit argues that all three were sitting in the nude in Collins-Rector’s jacuzzi when Collins-Rector passed Egan from his lap to Singer’s. 
 
 “Defendant Singer provided an alcoholic beverage to Plaintiff and mentioned finding a role for him in an upcoming movie that he was directing,” the suit states. “Defendant Singer told Plaintiff how ‘this group’ controls Hollywood, and that he was sexy. Defendant Singer masturbated Plaintiff and then performed oral sex upon him. Defendant Singer solicited Plaintiff to perform oral sex upon him which Plaintiff resisted.” 
 
 Collins-Rector pleaded guilty in 2004 to charges of luring five teenage boys across state lines for the purposes of sexually assaulting them. He has been a registered sex offender since then. Egan also accused Collins-Rector of threatening Egan at gunpoint not to resist the advances made at him. 
 
 “The claims made against Bryan Singer are completely without merit,” Singer’s attorney, Marty Singer, told The Hollywood Reporter. “We are very confident that Bryan will be vindicated in this absurd and defamatory lawsuit. It is obvious that this case was filed in an attempt to get publicity at the time when Bryan’ s new movie is about to open in a few weeks.” 
 
 Egan’s attorney, Jeff Herman, indicated that the suit against Singer was the first of several he plans to file. He also represented the plaintiffs in five sexual assault lawsuits filed against former Sesame Street puppeteer Kevin Clash, accusing him of engaging in sexual relationships with teenage boys. One of those clients dropped his lawsuit, another retracted his accusations, and three of the cases were thrown out of court for exceeding the statute of limitations. 
 
 “Hollywood has a problem with the sexual exploitation of children,” Herman was quoted as saying. 
 
 Singer was also the target of a lawsuit in 1997, during the making of his film Apt Pupil, accusing him of forcing underage male actors to strip naked. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office determined at the time that there was no basis for a criminal case. 
 
 “It’s an absolute smear job,” screenwriter Brandon Boyce told journalist Don Murphy at the time, saying the plaintiffs were “trying to blackmail people based on their sexuality.” 
 
 [Image via X-Men: Days of Future Past official Facebook page] ||||| Story highlights "I was a piece of meat," plaintiff says 
 
 "It's the worst kept secret " in Hollywood, lawyer says 
 
 Bryan Singer's rep says the suit is "completely without merit" 
 
 Singer is one of Hollywood's most successful directors 
 
 A lawyer who filed a teen sex abuse lawsuit against "X-Men" director Bryan Singer said three more "Hollywood types" will be targeted in similar suits soon. 
 
 Michael Egan, who accuses Singer of sexually abusing him starting when he was 15, appeared with attorney Jeff Herman at a news conference in Beverly Hills on Thursday. 
 
 "I was a piece of meat," Egan, now 31, told reporters. "There was no relationship." 
 
 The civil suit filed in U.S. District Court in Hawaii on Wednesday alleged that Singer offered the aspiring teen actor a role in an "X-Men" film if he gave in to his sexual demands, while threatening to destroy his career if he didn't. 
 
 Singer's representative said the accusations were "completely without merit." 
 
 "We are very confident that Bryan will be vindicated in this absurd and defamatory lawsuit," Singer's representative said. "It is obvious that this case was filed in an attempt to get publicity at the time when Bryan' s new movie is about to open in a few weeks." 
 
 Singer is one of Hollywood's most successful directors and producers, having directed two installments of the "X-Men" film franchise and a Superman movie in the past 15 years. His next film, "X-Men: Days of Future Past," is set to hit theaters on May 23. 
 
 Fox, the studio distributing the X-Men movies, issued a statement about the accusations Thursday. 
 
 "These are serious allegations, and they will be resolved in the appropriate forum. This is a personal matter, which Bryan Singer and his representatives are addressing separately." 
 
 Herman said he chose Hawaii to file the suit because the legislature there opened a window for two years allowing old sex abuse cases to be filed. The provision expires next week. 
 
 The alleged incidents detailed in the lawsuit happened in 1998 and 1999, the suit said. Most of the alleged sex abuse took place at parties at a California mansion, while other incidents allegedly happened during two trips to Hawaii. 
 
 Singer "manipulated his power, wealth and position in the entertainment industry to sexually abuse and exploit the underage plaintiff through the use of drugs, alcohol, threats and inducements which resulted in plaintiff suffering catastrophic psychological and emotional injuries," the complaint alleged. 
 
 Singer "promised acting roles to plaintiff in an X-Men movie, in commercials, and in other of his projects, and professed that he would arrange for plaintiff to audition for roles and projects in others' productions," it alleged. 
 
 Egan said when his mother learned about the abuse when he was 17 she called the Los Angeles Police, who then brought in the FBI. Although he gave a statement to investigators, it "fell on deaf ears" and nothing came of the investigation, he said. 
 
 The FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles told CNN the agency would not confirm or deny that there was an investigation or why it might not have been pursued. 
 
 The lawsuit said that most of the alleged sex abuse took place at parties hosted at an Encino, California, mansion, by a man who Egan and two other young men successfully sued in 2004 for sex abuse. The men won a $4 million judgment against him, but Singer was not a defendant in that case. 
 
 Egan and other teen boys were allegedly lured with incentives and threats, the suit said. 
 
 "He was advised that those adult males controlled Hollywood and would destroy his hopes and dreams of an acting career if he did not keep them happy," the suit said. "They threatened to 'eliminate' him and his family, and told him that they were monitoring not only his phone, but those of his family members, and asserted he would be 'destroyed' if he ever disclosed the unconscionable activities that occurred at the estate." 
 
 Singer "was present for, and participated in, several of these threatening communications," the complaint alleged. 
 
 Egan "never freely, voluntarily, and knowingly consented to these sexual interactions, and often resisted them," it said. 
 
 "The parties were typically sordid and featured sexual contact between adult males and the many teenage boys who were present for the parties," the suit said. The teens were seduced by the "distraction of alcohol and drugs," it said. 
 
 "The nature of the parties was well-known and notorious among many men in the Hollywood entertainment industry," the complaint said. 
 
 Singer allegedly gave Egan "drugs, including cocaine, a pill identified as 'green triangle' which is believed to be a reference to the drug Ecstasy, Xanax, Rohypnol, pain pills believed to be Vicodin or Percocet, and alcoholic beverages," the suit said. 
 
 Singer "promised acting roles to plaintiff in an X-Men movie, in commercials, and in other of his projects, and professed that he would arrange for plaintiff to audition for roles and projects in others' productions," it alleged. 
 
 Egan told reporters that after the FBI declined to help, he gave up on his dream of being an actor and "buried it in me as deeply as I possibly could." 
 
 After years of drinking "to numb the pain," he became sober two years ago and began trauma therapy to "deal with deep-rooted issues," Egan said. 
 
 "I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse," he said. "At the end of the day, we are not going to stop and change anything unless people come forward." 
 
 Herman said he has been working for six months to uncover teen sex abuse cases in Hollywood, some more recent than Egan's. 
 
 "We suspect these things are still going on in Hollywood," he said. 
 
 He said it was a silent conspiracy that "goes from the bottom to the top of Hollywood" with studios "looking the other way." 
 
 "It's the worst kept secret around, because it has been going on for years in Hollywood," Herman said.
– Two lawsuits claiming director Bryan Singer sexually assaulted teenage boys have been dropped, but that doesn't mean Singer's troubles are over. The director of X-Men: Days of Future Past is now being investigated by New York police regarding an alleged "forcible sexual assault" in March 2013, BuzzFeed reports. While Singer hasn't been charged with any crime, an NYPD rep says he is a suspect in a case involving a male in his 20s that "is open and being investigated by our Special Victims Squad." The complaint was filed in May of this year. Singer did not "engage in any criminal or inappropriate behavior," says his lawyer, adding that "neither my client nor any of his representatives have been contacted by the NYPD or anyone else about an alleged criminal investigation." The NYPD rep says that is "not necessarily" unusual "if you're building a case." The lawyer also calls BuzzFeed's reporting "a witch hunt against my client because he is gay." (The Wire has a chronology of the allegations against Singer here.) In dropping his case against Singer, alleged victim Michael Egan has retained the ability to re-file at a later date.