The heartbroken mother of Pamela Anderson today told of her devastation over the star’s claim she was raped twice as a teen and sexually molested by a baby-sitter between the ages of six and ten.
Shocked Carol Anderson said she had no clue her daughter went through such a series of horrific ordeals and said the family has been left ‘numb’ by the claims.
This comes as the MailOnline can reveal Canadian police have launched an investigation into the alleged crimes and want to interview the former Baywatch star as soon as possible.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Carol, 65, said: ‘This whole thing is a complete shock. This is a terrible, dramatic thing to have happened to Pamela and if she went through that all by her self it is horrible.
‘I am kind of numb over it all, I sat there with my mouth open when I found out. My husband Barry and I always felt we were there all the time for the kids so it’s just terrible to hear this now.’
Pamela was born in Ladysmith, a remote fishing village in British Columbia, in 1967.
She was raised in the area throughout her childhood before later moving to Vancouver and on to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling career.
Now 46, the former Playboy model gave a speech at the Cannes Film Festival in France last Friday for her charitable foundation dedicated to protecting animal rights.
During the speech she astounded the gathered press when, for the first time, she began detailing alleged sexual attacks on her while she was growing up.
‘I did not have an easy childhood. Despite loving parents, I was molested from age six to 10 by my female babysitter,’ said Pamela.
The actress then went on to claim she was raped by a 25-year-old man aged just 12 and said her first boyfriend gang raped her with six of his friends in Grade 9 of high-school.
‘I kept these events to myself. Sometimes when you smile, it’s not because (you are) happy. It’s because (you are) strong,’ she said.
Carol said she knew nothing of the speech in France until she received an email from her afterwards telling her what she’d said. She hasn’t spoken to her on the phone or in person since the explosive claims.
‘It was as much a shock to me as it was to everyone, especially when you think you’re close to the kids,’ said Carol.
‘My son Gerry, God he cried for four hours, I have never seen him cry like that, because it makes you feel you haven’t done your job of protecting Pamela.
‘Pamela wrote in the email, “Mom don’t take this personally, I love you so much and we get our strength and our work habits from you,” she just felt that she wanted to get it off her chest.
‘It must have been a lot to go through especially at the age she was.’
Carol had worked as a waitress at the Hideaway Restaurant in Chemainus, British Columbia when her children were growing up, while dad Barry, 68, worked at Crofton Pulp Mill, a local papermill on Vancouver Island.
Carol said they tried their best to raise their kids in a loving and safe environment.
‘Pam and I were really close back then, I worked days so I was home every night with her and her brother Gerry,’ she said. ‘If she has been sexually abused by a baby-sitter between the ages of six and ten that’s really hard to take.
‘I spoke to my son about it and he said “mom everyone had to get sitters, right?” I can’t remember who the sitter was Pam is talking about because there was so many.
‘My husband used to tease me because I fired them all the time, they weren’t feeding the kids right, weren’t dressing them right, I was always so fussy. You’re leaving them with your prize possessions, but when you are a working family you have to have a sitter.’
But Carol is most shocked that her daughter kept her ordeal secret for so many years.
She said: ‘I can’t believe she didn’t tell me at the time, she wasn’t a shy child, it’s heartbreaking.
‘We were working all the time and those two (Pam and Gerry) were like “Mutt and Jeff” (the cartoon characters), they looked after each other.
‘Gerry was four years younger than her, but he is just so shocked, he’s trying to remember anything he can about the baby-sitter and the period when Pamela was raped at around 12-years-old.’
Carol said that not only was she busy with work, she was also battling Ovarian cancer when her children were young.
‘It was a tough time, the doctor didn’t think I was going to be long for this world,’ she said.
‘I had that on my mind and me and Barry were working, we were a normal family leading a normal life, you have to do what you can do.’
But Carol, a slender 65-year-old, adds: ‘I was such a hands on mom, but obviously I didn’t pay enough attention.’
She believes her daughter made the astonishing admission to help young victims of rape or sexual assault to come forward.
Carol wrote an email to her high-profile daughter to offer her family support.
‘I said to her, “well it never kept you back”, if young girls know what you went through and you were still able to love the planet and love animals, then maybe coming out will help somebody.
‘Pamela is bringing awareness to the subject to help other young girls who may have been through a similar ordeal.’
The MailOnline visited Carol at her small wood built home on a tree-lined street in the harbor city of Nanaimo.
The tidy kitchen is filled with framed photos of Pamela and her two boys as well as her son Gerry, 42, a Hollywood script-writer, and his daughter.
Carol’s husband Barry sat quietly watch TV in the front room as we chatted at the kitchen table.
Then the telephone rang.
It was a police officer from Ladysmith Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The officer told Carol that given the nature of the allegations, they are reaching out to talk to her daughter directly.
She came off the phone and said: ‘The police want to talk to Pamela to see if she can remember who she thinks was involved. Pamela’s in France but I’ll have to tell her to ring them. They are obviously taking the allegations seriously.’
The RCMP won’t give any further comment on their investigation out of respect for Pamela’s privacy.
Carol said her and the rest of the family are now trying desperately to recall crucial details that may help the police investigation.
‘It was so long ago, I cannot remember the baby-sitter’s name or even remember her face,’ she said.
‘We are trying to settle down and get our memories going. We used to get the baby-sitters through friends in town, people we knew, they were mostly teenagers, Daily Mail informs.
