An ABC investigation uncovers allegations from young men against an influential Tasmanian theatre production manager that he made unwanted sexual advances, including through physical contact at after-parties and by sexting a school student.
Multiple people have raised allegations against theatre director and city councillor Danny Gibson .An ABC investigation has detailed allegations from young men against influential Tasmanian theatre production manager and former Launceston mayor Danny Gibson .
Three people have agreed to share their stories while others were reluctant to go public, citing concerns over potential repercussions they believed they might face, such as missing out on theatre roles. He claims that Mr Gibson, who was 27 at the time and an actor in the production, also came outside and sat down on the ground a couple of metres to his left."All this was really strange, like he had given me absolutely no recognition at all up until this point," Bill said."And then like, all of a sudden, I'm alone with him and he's asking me deeply personal questions about my sexuality.
It was at this moment that Bill said he came to realise Mr Gibson was under the influence of alcohol and appeared to be quite intoxicated."I thought he was going to put it on his knee, but he ended up caressing it on his inner thigh."I just froze until I had my hand on his c*** through the top of his pants.Bill said he attempted to move his hand away from Mr Gibson but was struggling against his strength.
In more recent years, Bill's path has again crossed with Mr Gibson in a professional context, and he has found it extremely distressing. "Then that's kind of where it all started, and from there, he added me on Facebook, followed me on Instagram — the messages began."ABC News: Luke BowdenAt first, the messages were innocent in nature, talking about Noah's day at school or what shows they were both working on, Noah said.Noah claims they became sexual in nature as the pair exchanged nude photos and explicit messages.
"How has this innocent relationship with this person who I thought could help me advance my career, how's it turned into this?" Both witnesses said they did not see any groping, but claim Mr Gibson was "intimately" trying to hug or nuzzle into Noah and touch his "lower back"."My friend and I tried to intervene at that point as best we could, from my recollection, Noah was visibly upset at this stage."
The cast and crew of Encore Theatre Company's production of Evita were meant to be gathered to celebrate the success of the show.Supplied: Steven ThomasBut Mr Thomas alleges that sometime during the evening, Mr Gibson, who was 31 years old at the time and stage manager of the production, sat next to him on the couch."I was a bit confused, I looked up at my friends and they were giving me kind of odd looks, obviously showing a bit of concern of what was going on.
Steven Thomas says he encountered Mr Gibson at an afterparty following Encore Theatre Company's production of Evita.Mr Thomas went inside the room and sat on the bed, but then he said things started to get "a bit weird".
Gibson Launceston Mayor Encore Theatre Company Director Actor Sexual Allegations Resign
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