ATHENS – A fifth Greek actor has been charged with rape as scandals in the sector have grown, with reports there could be more than eight victims, including two allegedly underage when the attacks occurred.

The state-run Athens-Macedonia News Agency reported that prosecutors charged him with serial rape and multiple counts of attempted rape following an investigation after comlaints from four women who said the assaults were committed between 2008-15.

The agency didn’t name him but other media reports said it was Lambros Filippou, a prominent actor, who denied the charges and said that one of the  alleged victims was in love with him.

Authorities are also investigating similar claims by at least another four women in the actor’s professional circle, the report said, adding that the first complaint came in July, 2021 from a well-known Greek actress and her sister.

They reportedly said he raped them repeatedly for six years and that the sister tried to commit suicide because of the abuse with no explanation why they didn’t report it at the time it happened.

Two more complaints were filed shortly after by another two women who made similar allegations, prompting a summons to be sent to the actor to answer to the charges, which he denied, the report said.

The case was forwarded to an investigating magistrate but no reports whether he had been detained or where it stood, coming in the aftermath of a series of other rape charges against actors and professionals in the field.

The scandals broke out after Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou came out publicly in January 2021 with reports she had been raped by a federation official who couldn’t be prosecuted because the statute of limitations expired.

After that, a line of other women said they were victims of sexual harassment, abuse and rape in the workplace, prompting the New Democracy government to say it would get tougher on such crimes.