Jessica Hahn (born July 7, 1959) is an American model and actress. She accused televangelist Jim Bakker of rape while she was employed as a church secretary.[1] She frequently appeared on The Howard Stern Show throughout the late 1980s and into the 2000s.
Jessica Hahn | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1959-07-07) July 7, 1959 (age 63) Massapequa, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, model |
| Years active | 1987–1996 |
| Spouse | Frank Lloyd (divorced) |
| Partner | Ron Leavitt (1991–2008; his death) |
| Children | 2 |
Hahn first came to public attention following Jim Bakker's announcement on March 19, 1987, that he was stepping down as head of PTL Satellite Network and Heritage USA, pending the imminent disclosure of a sexual encounter between the two of them. According to Hahn, on the afternoon of December 6, 1980, when she was a 21-year-old church secretary, she was drugged and raped by Bakker and another preacher, John Wesley Fletcher.[2] Hahn was given a $279,000 (equivalent to $665,465 in 2021) pay-off for her silence, which was paid with PTL's funds to Hahn through Bakker associate Roe Messner.[2] Bakker, who made all of the financial decisions for the PTL organization, allegedly kept two sets of books to conceal the accounting irregularities. Reporters from The Charlotte Observer, led by Charles Shepard, investigated and published a series of articles regarding the PTL organization's finances.[3] This precipitated Bakker's resignation and the publication of Hahn's claims. In his 1997 book, I Was Wrong, Bakker disputed Hahn's account, claiming that he was "set up" and that the sex was consensual.[4]
After the public revelation of the Bakker scandal, Hahn posed nude for Playboy (November 1987, December 1987 and September 1988)[5] and videos and appeared in several television shows, including Married... with Children. She was also known for her frequent appearances on The Howard Stern Show throughout the late 1980s and into the 2000s.
Hahn was born in Massapequa, New York and graduated from Massapequa High School.[6] She had a relationship with comedian Sam Kinison and appeared in his music video for "Wild Thing" in 1988. In 1991, she began a relationship with the co-creator of Married...with Children, Ron Leavitt, which continued until his death in 2008.[7][8]
In December 2017, Hahn disclosed that she is married to Frank Lloyd (a film stuntman), is no longer active in show business, and lives on a ranch north of Los Angeles. Hahn remains a committed Christian.[9][10]
Copies of The Sachem, as the Massapequa book is called, are scattered throughout the collection. A long-haired Jerry Seinfeld pops out of the pages of 1972. In '74, Mr. Buttafuoco and his wife graduated. There is just one comment under Mr. Buttafuoco's picture. It says, 'I love Mary Jo.' Other graduates of the Massapequa schools include the Baldwin brothers, Alexander, '76, class president; Dan, '79; Billy, '81, and Stephen, '84. In Ms. Hahn's Class of '77 were also Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, Tim Van Patten, an actor and Brian Baldinger, a professional football player.
PTL scandal | |
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| PTL Ministry |
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| History |
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| In popular culture | |