Two brothers accusing prominent Madison County attorney L. Thomas Lakin of sexually abusing them both told their lawyer they were fearful about what would happen to them and their family if they went against Lakin's wishes.

The brothers, who along with a girl from another family have filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against Lakin, gave videotaped statements to one of their attorneys, Ed Unsell. Unsell allowed the News-Democrat to review the statements.

Attempts to reach Lakin have not been successful, but according to his son, Brad Lakin, who now runs the law firm founded by Lakin, the allegations are false and an attempt to extort $50 million.

No criminal charges have been filed against Lakin, but the plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit have appeared before a federal grand jury and given statements to Illinois State Police.

The younger brother, now 16, said he had sex with the minor girl last year while Lakin watched and had sex with two adult women while Lakin watched. The younger brother also said he and Lakin performed sex acts on each other.

"I was scared because of what he would do to my family," the younger brother said. "I just was so scared because of what he has done in the past."

"He would give us lawsuits a lot," the younger brother said. "He gave us a house ... and he'd just kick us out and gave us lawsuits about the house."

Both brothers said Lakin began having talks with them about relationships with girls, then would inquire about their bodies, but eventually the conversations turned to sexual requests.

The older brother, who is no longer a minor, said he masturbated in front of Lakin a couple of times when he was a minor, and Lakin had sexual contact with him once.

"Ever since I've been growing up, I've just seen all the power he's had. I've been around him, I've heard all the people talk about him," the older brother said. "I've seen what he's done to my mom."

The older brother said Lakin once told him that if there was any girl he wanted to have sex with, "he could arrange it," but Lakin would "probably have to be there." The older brother said Lakin once called him to Lakin's bedroom, where a high school-age girl took off her clothes when Lakin instructed her to do so.

"He pretty much said, 'There you go, you know you can have sex with her,'" the older brother said, adding that he declined to have sex with the girl.

The older brother said the abuse came to light when the minor girl who had sex with his younger brother told one of Lakin's sons about it. The older brother said one of Lakin's sons, Brad Lakin, suggested sending the younger brother to a counselor in Canada because counselors in the United States would be required to make a report to local police. The civil lawsuit accuses Brad Lakin of trying to cover up the abuse, but Brad Lakin has said the allegations are false and an attempt to extort money.

The older brother said Tom Lakin told him it's OK for two males to "pleasure each other," and that when Lakin was younger, he and a friend used to "sneak off" to do so.

One of the adult women who the lawsuit states had sex with the younger brother said in a videotaped statement to Unsell that Lakin told her he used to have sex with a male classmate in college.

The woman, who is 40, said she was in Lakin's bedroom last year when the younger brother came in and began having sex with Lakin. The woman said she and Lakin had used cocaine earlier in the evening.

The woman said she went back to Lakin's home on another occasion and had sex with the younger brother and the other adult woman while Lakin watched, masturbated and gave instructions.

The woman said Lakin did not join in the sex, but the younger brother said Lakin did have sexual contact with one of the women. The other woman also said Lakin did not join in the sex.

The minor girl said in a statement to Unsell that she did cocaine with Lakin during a four-day stay at his home. She said she had sex with the younger brother at the request of Lakin, who watched and masturbated while giving instructions.

The younger brother said Lakin took him for about a month to California, where Lakin has a home in Malibu. The younger brother said he refused requests by Tom Lakin for sex in California.

The older brother said when his younger brother told him of being abused by Lakin, "I just felt my stomach, you know, like rolling." He added, "I felt responsible, that I could have prevented that from happening."

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