Home / Dallas News / Dallas filmmaker accused of sexually assaulting teenage girl

Dallas filmmaker accused of sexually assaulting teenage girl

 

 

A Dallas filmmaker has been arrested after he was accused of sexually assaulting a teenager several years ago.

Adam Christopher Donaghey
Adam Christopher Donaghey(Dallas County Sheriff’s Department)

Adam Christopher Donaghey, 39, was taken into custody April 27 on one count of sexual assault of a child. He was released early the next day after posting $25,000 bond. Under the conditions of his bond, he is not allowed to have contact with his accuser or her family, or with any minor.

Earlier this year, a woman who had a small role in the 2017 film A Ghost Story wrote on Facebook that Donaghey had raped and molested her during the production of a movie when she was 16. The Dallas Morning News generally does not name accusers in cases of sex crimes.

Asked to comment on Donaghey’s case, his lawyer, Nelson Knight, said: “I don’t have anything to say to you about that.”

Dallas police said that the victim was 16 years old at the time of the assault but that they could not provide any other details about the case because of its nature.

The Dallas County district clerk’s office, which keeps records for state district courts, said it did not have a copy of Donaghey’s arrest-warrant affidavit and referred a request for information to the police department.

Donaghey is a leading member of the North Texas film scene. In 2010, he was part of the group that refurbished and reopened the Texas Theatre in north Oak Cliff. He also co-founded the Oak Cliff Film Festival, which debuted in 2012. Donaghey’s involvement with the Texas Theatre and the film festival ended in 2017, said Jason Reimer, a partner in the group that operates it.

One of his biggest film credits is as a producer on A Ghost Story, starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara and directed by fellow North Texas native David Lowery. The movie was shot in Irving, Dallas and other area locations.

Asked about the charge against Donaghey, Lowery wrote in an email: “I am sickened, angered and saddened by this news. It feels like a betrayal on multiple fronts: of values my partners and I hold dear, of a filmmaking community who embraced him, and most of all of a young woman who trusted him. I’m grateful to her for bringing this matter to light; she has our support, and I hope she’ll find justice.”

Last year, Donaghey’s name showed up on an upcoming movie from Cinestate, the studio headed by Park Cities native Dallas Sonnier. Run Hide Fight depicts a fictional school shooting, and filming wrapped late last year in Red Oak.

Sonnier said in an email that Donaghey has resigned from his roles on all Cinestate projects, including Run Hide Fight, as well as three other movies, Till DeathThe Seventh Day and Castle Freak. “He is not associated with the company any longer,” Sonnier wrote, adding, “May God have mercy on his soul.”

Check Also

FEMA hiring in Texas as assistance fund deadline is extended

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has extended the deadline for disaster survivors in several …