A television and film actor survived a kidnapping and attack by an infamous serial killer

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A longtime television and film actor claims he was abducted and sexually assaulted by infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the 1970s but managed to survive.

Now People reports This Jack Merrill(65) talks about the incident and its impact on his life in his one-man play “The Save” at the Electric Lodge Theater in Los Angeles. Merrill’s long career includes appearances on television shows such as “Law & Order,” “Hannah Montana” and “Sex and the City” and in films such as “Eight Men Out.”

Merrill tells People that in 1978, when he was 19, he was walking home from the YMCA in Chicago after a swim when a man drove up to him and offered him a ride. He said he agreed to the ride and that the man eventually stuck a rag in his face, causing him to lose consciousness.

He said when he woke up, he was handcuffed and the man drove him to a house in a Chicago suburb.

“He told me to be quiet,” Merrill tells People. “The light from the back of the house hit his eyes and I suddenly realized how dangerous he was. I was a skinny 19-year-old. I knew I couldn’t anger him. I just had to defuse the situation and pretend everything was fine.”

Merrill claims that after drinking beer and smoking marijuana, the man dragged him into a room and sexually assaulted him, at one point putting a gun in his mouth.

“I knew if I fought him I wouldn’t have much of a chance,” Merrill tells People. “I never panicked or screamed. In a way, I felt sorry for him too, like he didn’t necessarily want to do what he was doing, but he couldn’t stop.

He said the attack continued for hours, but the man suddenly told Merrill he would take him home. The man gave Merrill his phone number and suggested they meet again. Merrill claims he flushed the number down the toilet.

Merrill tells People magazine that he was determined to put the attack behind him and did not call the authorities. A few months later, he saw an article about Gacy in the newspaper and realized that it was the man who had attacked him. He called the newspaper and said he was a victim, but then hung up, worried it would endanger his family. He said if he thought the police needed him, he would have come forward.

Gacy was accused and convicted of the murders of 33 men, many of whom were buried beneath his home. He was executed in 1994.

Merrill says he had to deal with the effects of the attack over the years, but has forgiven Gacy. He said his 23-year relationship with his husband helped with his healing.

“Bad things have happened to a lot of people,” Merrill tells People. “Many people who have been raped don’t talk about it. I understand that. So far I’ve only told close friends. But doing my new show, I go through it every night. I’m proud of this journey. I managed to learn from evil and use it for good. You know, I’m a lucky guy.”