The grammy museum hosts 40th anniversary tribute to soul train 2
Photo Credit: Paul Archuleta for GRAMMY Museum via FilmMagic

Don Cornelius Accused of Sexual Abuse in New Playboy Docuseries

Soul Train host Don Cornelius was alleged to have taken advantage of young Playboy models in a new episode of Secrets of Playboy on A&E.

In the latest episode of the A&E docuseries Secrets of Playboy, former Playboy "bunny mother" P.J. Masten alleged that Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius kidnapped and sexually assaulted two Playboy bunnies decades ago.

"It was probably the most horrific story I've ever heard at Playboy," Masten recalled of the incident. "This story is the story of a massive cleanup that never hit the press."

According to Masten, Cornelius was a VIP member of the Playboy. While attending a Hollywood dance bar one evening, Cornelius spotted two "baby bunnies", also sisters, who he invited to his VIP section and later back to his house where he claimed to be throwing a party.

"These two young girls got in his Rolls-Royce, went up to his house and we didn't hear from them for three days," Masten said in the episode. "We couldn't figure out where they were."

One of the women was then able to call a bunny mother at the Playboy Mansion and alleged that Cornelius had held them hostage at his house. Joe Piastro, Playboy's head of security, went to pick up the woman and discovered them "bloodied, battered [and] drugged," Masten said.

"They were tied up and bound," Masten continued. "There were wooden objects that they were sodomized with and [one sister] could hear [the] other sister being brutalized. It was horrible, horrible."

Masten also says that the sisters were locked in separate rooms at Cornelius' residence, but didn't notify the police in accordance with Playboy policy. She also claimed that the company's security team handled the matter internally, convincing the women to avoid speaking publicly about it.

"The thing that was so outrageous to me, that made me so angry was that no charges were filed and Don Cornelius' privileges as a number one VIP were never suspended. He was back in the club the following week," Masten said.  "I blame myself a lot, I have such guilt about not coming forward, but I knew that the establishment wouldn't allow me to come forward. And who's going to believe me? Nobody's going to believe me."

One person who doesn't believe Masten is Cornelius' son, Tony Cornelius, who told PEOPLE that her story was "unbelievable story without real proof" and "salaciousness."

Prior to his death in 2012, Don Cornelius was convicted on unrelated domestic violence charges in 2008. Cornelius was never investigated for sexual assault against the bunnies.

Sign Up To Our Newsletter