A former child actress has spoken out about how a top Hollywood photographer, who is now charged with sexual assault, groped her after he persuaded her to pose for an ‘artistic’ nude shoot when she was 20.
Arden Young, who appeared on episodes of Modern Family, Malcolm in the Middle and CSI, was so disgusted with Kenneth Dolin’s actions she quit Hollywood and started a career exposing pedophiles.
She described the disturbing alleged encounter to DailyMail.com, saying, ‘He even said to me as he fondled me, ”I’m not like Harvey Weinstein you know”.
Dolin, 64, was arrested on March 4 on charges of sexual assault at his home studio in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles after a 29-year-old woman accused him of assault.
He is currently out on $1 million bail facing a charge of penetration with a foreign object.
Actress Arden Young quit Hollywood after photographer Kenneth Dolin allegedly groped her after he convinced her to pose for a nude shoot
‘He even said to me as he fondled me, ”I’m not like Harvey Weinstein you know,” Arden told DailyMail.com
Dolin, 64, is out on $1million bail after being arrested last week when a 29-year-old woman accused him of sexually assaulting her at his studio in this apartment block in the Hancock Park area of Los Angeles
Arden Young – then known as Arden Belle – appeared on Modern Family in a scene with Nolan Gould
Cops say two other women in their 20s accused him of sexual assault and are now appealing for other victims to come forward.
‘All three incidents began with professional contacts that led to reports of Dolin touching women inappropriately during photo shoots when they were alone in his studio,’ LAPD said in a press release.
‘He has significant connections in the entertainment industry and has been known to solicit victims on modeling websites.’
An entertainment insider tells DailyMail.com that Dolin ‘is the ultimate master manipulator.’
‘He has a God complex,’ said the insider. ‘If you look in the pupils of some of his kid photographs, you will see a reflection of him.
‘He photoshops an image of himself in their pupils. It is really creepy.’
Young, 26, said she thought she was safe with Dolin because when she first met him as a 15-year-old needing promotional headshots, both she and her mother thought he was gay.
When he was arrested, she decided she should keep quiet no longer about her alleged experience – especially as she now tries to expose sexual abusers in her job as a reporter for Sound Investigations.
‘He is a scary person and I’m hoping he gets put behind bars at the maximum sentence,’ Young, who also appeared in a promotional photoshoot with Justin Bieber for his song ‘Believe’, told DailyMail.com.
‘In my work, I speak with so many victims of online sexual abuse – and I felt like a hypocrite for keeping my stories silent for so long.
‘I also wanted to warn parents before getting their children involved in the entertainment industry,’ added Young, who acted under the name Arden Belle, using her middle name as a surname.
Dolin’s long list of clients, many children or teenagers at the time, include Jenna Ortega, Luna Blaise, Haley Joel Osment, and more
‘He is a scary person and I’m hoping he gets put behind bars at the maximum sentence,’ Young, who is now a reporter with told DailyMail.com. She took to Twitter to speak out against him
Young also appeared in a promotional photoshoot for Justin Bieber’s song ‘Believe’
In a video Young posted on X – formerly Twitter – she said that as a teen she needed new promotional headshots and she and her mother were referred to Dolin, who was described as the best in the business.
‘The photographer is nice. He has no problem with my mom being there the whole time. And this will be important later, my mom and I both assumed he was gay based on the way he speaks and dresses, and some other factors.’
She said she kept in touch with Dolin after the shoot and five years later, when she turned 20, he asked her if she would do an artistic nude shoot so he could ‘expand his portfolio’.
Young, now 26, told DailyMail.com that she thought she was safe with Dolin when she first met him as a 15-year-old needing promotional headshots
He told her her face would be obscured with shadow so no-one would know she was the model.
‘A free photoshop with a photographer of that caliber, coupled with the fact that I was under the assumption he wasn’t attracted to women – I felt safe, so I agreed,’ she said.
‘I arrived at the photoshoot immediately feeling weird, but because of my programming as an actor I blamed myself for how uncomfortable I was,’ Young continued.
‘At his request, I undressed. I had to stay naked for a while until we actually started shooting to allow for the imprints from my waistband on my skin to disappear.’
It was then, she said, that things took a darker turn.
‘The photographer began to examine my body closely, showering me with compliments, and touching me inappropriately, all the time repeating “I can’t believe I have known you since you were 15”, and “does your mom know you are here?” And “does anyone know you are here?”
‘He made the outline of his erection very clear to me and I did my best not to look or acknowledge it.
‘I was shocked, disgusted and stunned,’ she added. ‘I didn’t even feel like I was in my body anymore or had control over what I was doing. I was frozen.
‘He even said to me as he fondled me, ”I’m not like Harvey Weinstein you know”.
‘During the photo shoot, he continued to come up to me and touch me on my breast and my privates. He claimed this was so I could look more free and uninhibited.’
Young said she ‘contemplated just bolting out the door’, but didn’t know how many locks there were and thought that if she did escape she would be a naked girl lost in the maze of his apartment building.
‘He then wanted me to get in the shower at his apartment, which I said no to, and as soon as he deemed the shoot over, I left. I was so mortified and shell-shocked.
‘I thought about calling the police. I sat in my car with my phone for a while, but I didn’t. After all I was an adult who had agreed to meet with this photographer for a nude photoshoot. There was no documentation of the molestation other than my word.’
She said she now regrets not filing a report, adding: ‘I guess hindsight is always 20/20.’
Young now speaks out about the dangers of Hollywood and has also been instrumental in exposing PornHub. She recently spoke before Congress about the billion-dollar company’s alleged exploitation of children.
She said Dolin even used inappropriate nicknames for the children that were referred to him.
The name he used for her was ‘Pretty Pants’.
When DailyMail.com attempted to contact Dolin, his phone was not accepting calls. He did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Among the child actors Dolin has photographed are Jenna Ortega (left), Haley Joel Osment and Luna Blaise
On Dolin’s website, there’s now an announcement that says, ‘Due to a family emergency, the studio will be closed for the month of March’
Young posted a screenshot on Twitter where Dolin allegedly reached out to her to get a free retouched photo
One young model on Yelp named Kari C. claimed Dolin reached out to her on Model Mayhem, a website created for photographers and models to work together. Kari said he was inappropriate right off the bat
Dolin says he is ‘passionate’ about education and motivational speaking. He gave a TedX talk in Florida using a picture he had taken of Rick Fox in the background
Dolin’s long list of clients, many children or teenagers at the time, include Jenna Ortega, Haley Joel Osment, Molly Shannon, Luna Blaise from Manifest, Rick Fox and Emmy Award Winner Olivia Rose-Keegan, just to name a few.
On his website he said he has ‘photographed something like 8,000 sessions (but who’s counting)’ over the last 20 years.
‘Most photographers ask you to pose,’ he added. ‘My job is to get you to stop posing.
‘When photographing actors I prefer portraiture, not caricature. I eschew the idea of extreme “looks” in favor of truthful representations. When photographing professionals, I’m passionate about creating images that feel connected and unposed. I like working with smart people in full possession of a sense of humor.’
He said his work has appeared in magazines including People, US Weekly, Beverly Hills Magazine and Closer ‘and most importantly, on my mother’s refrigerator.’
Dolin – born Kenneth Dolinky – gave a TEDX Talk titled The TAO of Portraits in Manhattan Beach, California, in 2016, just a year before the two women claimed he assaulted them, and told the audience that it was his job to help empower people.
On Dolin’s website page, he shows off countless photos of his clients and includes a youth division with photo shoots costing anywhere from $575 up to $850.
The entertainment insider who spoke to DailyMail.com said, ‘This is just the tip of the iceberg for him.
‘He thought he was invincible. I hope justice is brought for all of his victims.’
On Dolin’s website, there’s now an announcement that says, ‘Due to a family emergency, the studio will be closed for the month of March.’
The LAPD is asking potential victims or people who know of one to call Officer Richard Podkowski or call L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers
Detective Brent Hopkins stressed the importance of finding additional victims and urged people who had any information to come forward regardless of when or if an assault took place.
‘Dolin used his significant connections in the entertainment industry to solicit victims on modeling websites,’ Hopkins said.
One young model on Yelp identified only as Kari C. claimed Dolin reached out to her on Model Mayhem, a website created for photographers and models to work together.
Kari said he was inappropriate right off the bat.
‘I received a message from him in Model Mayhem saying, “You’re lovely. If I don’t shoot you, I may not survive”.’
She said that as she was newly arrived in Los Angeles she thought that was how things worked.
‘But to me it sounds like a pick-up line and I feel it is completely unprofessional – whether it was meant as flirtation or not.
‘I sent him a message saying as such and received a response saying, ‘What the f*** are you talking about? I’m one of the top pros in L.A. What a bizarre and uninformed response’.
Kari then decided not to work with him.
Detective Hopkins said these victims felt trapped and had to comply with Dolin’s advances. ‘There’s a huge difference between art photography and sexual assault. We want to make sure we know everything that happened and make sure that line does not get crossed again.’
LAPD is asking potential victims or people who know of one to call Officer Richard Podkowski at 213-473-0447 or call L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or visit the L.A. Crime Stoppers website.