TV star-turned-child actor advocate Paul Petersen has blasted director Deborah Kampmeier in an internet essay over rape scenes in her new film "Hounddog" which feature 12-year-old Dakota Fanning.

Petersen is far from convinced Fanning has not been damaged by the disturbing scenes and has spoken out to help family values groups, who are attempting to block the indie film and have the director, Fanning's agent Cindy Osbrink and the actress' mother arrested for violating child porn statutes.

The actor, a former cast member of beloved 1960s TV show "The Donna Reed Show," tells movie magazine Premiere, "Young performers who do this sort of work are like bugs stuck in amber. Pretending leads to reality. Intellectually, kids feel it, live it, express it. Children can't shrug it off."

But Kampmeier has fired back at Petersen and the groups trying to bring criminal charges against them. The director insists the rape scene in the film was very carefully choreographed and filmed, so that Fanning was never harmed psychologically.

She explains, "Exactly how I was going to film the rape scene was articulated quite specifically in the script, and her mother, her agent, and her teacher/child welfare worker were all present for the scene, which was carried out exactly as we discussed it. I had to hide the fact that this girl is not naked. I had to hide the fact that there is not a boy on top of this girl having sex... I shot her face. I didn't shoot flesh against flesh... because I wanted to capture a soul going through this experience, not a body."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)