Sera Johnston is a Canadian former child model, actress, and animal rights activist who came into the spotlight in March 2020 when she accused the Academy Award-winning actor Timothy Hutton of raping her in 1983.
Wiki/Biography
Sera Johnston was born as Sera Lauren Johnston in 1969, and she hails from Vancouver, Canada.
Childhood picture of Sera Johnston
The skillful ballet dancer spent her teenage days showing off her ballet skills, twirling and tumbling, along with her gymnast friend, on the streets of Vancouver. During her school days, her coach dropped her from the school team when she deliberately started ditching track practice. A notorious student, Johnston failed in physical education and was kicked out of the French class.
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her father was a jazz musician. Her mother, Della Mae Johnston, worked as a set decorator in 1983 when Vancouver was still establishing itself as an economical platform for Hollywood productions. At that time, Della Mae was dating a stunt double who also made his living in this growing industry.
Husband & Children
The exotic dancer entered into a series of relationships throughout her adulthood, including two marriages that ended in divorce.
Affairs & Boyfriends
In 1983, she was in a relationship with Sam Izen. Thereafter, she also dated one of Hutton’s friends and co-actor Réal Andrews, who made acquaintance with Johnston during a photoshoot. Later, she briefly dated the model Vernard Goud whom she met at a club in 1991.
Career
Sera Johnston began her career as an actor at the age of nine when she played the protagonist Helen Keller, a pitied blind and deaf girl, in the biographical theatrical production of ‘The Miracle Worker.’ Spoiled by her parents, Helen lacks discipline and grows into a wild, angry, tantrum-throwing child at the age of six. Therefore, the Kellers hire a governess named Annie Sullivan, who changes Helen’s pitiful life.
Newspaper featuring Sera Johnston as Helen Keller in the theatrical production of ‘The Miracle Worker’
Thereafter, she pursued a career in dancing and modeling. In an interview, she revealed that she ended her acting career after her alleged sexual assault in 1983. She said.,
That was my own punishment to myself for getting raped, Especially because of who raped me.”
Accusation
In March 2020, Sera Johnston accused Timothy Hutton of sexual assault which took place in 1983. The American actor was well known for being the youngest recipient of the Academy Award (1981) in the category of Best Supporting Actor for playing the role of Conrad Jarrett in the American film Ordinary People (1980) at the age of 20.
Timothy Hutton
Apparently, Sera Johnston and her two friends were in high school when Hutton invited her to hang out with him at the Denman Place Inn in downtown Vancouver. For the 14-year-old child actress, it was a dream come true. She had secured herself an opportunity to hang out with an Oscar-winning actor, who was in town to shoot the movie Iceman (1984); therefore, she accepted the offer. Reportedly, Johnston doesn’t remember how she was led to Hutton’s bedroom, but she recalled Hutton and his friends offering the girls drinks. Johnston also mentioned how two men talked her through what they were going to do to her, as they undressed her like a doll. She compared the process to being prepped for surgery. Meanwhile, Johnston constantly begged Hutton to stop. Additionally, Johnston revealed that Hutton’s friend, who was standing next to the bed witnessing the rape, attempted oral-genital stimulation with her. Timothy Hutton, who was 22 when the alleged incident occurred, completely denied the allegations stating that Johnston’s story was fabricated with an objective to extort money from him. In July 2021, Hutton was officially cleared by law enforcement of the sexual assault charges pressed against him when Canadian authorities closed the investigation citing lack of evidence.
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, Johnston revealed that she smoked pot and got drunk during her high school days.
- Johnston admired Timothy Hutton’s acting during her childhood. In an interview, she revealed that she had even stayed up late to watch him win the Academy Award in 1981.
- In the aftermath of the sexual assault, Johnston’s confessed it all to her mother who took Johnston to a doctor for a checkup and a pregnancy test. Later, she also took Johnston to a psychiatrist multiple times a week, to cope with the alleged incident.
