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]
– 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.