Actor Tom Arnold was abused as a child by his male babysitter. The comedian, 49, has revealed he was molested by a 19-year-old from the ages of four to seven as he was growing up in Ottumwa, Iowa.

He tells People magazine, "(The abuse) started shortly before I turned 4. This guy would baby-sit me three or four times a week. He wanted me to play a game, and he wanted me to learn it so I could play it every time. I knew it was weird and I was scared, but I didn't know what sex was." Arnold kept the abuse a secret from his parents - because the unnamed babysitter bribed him with sweet treats and threatened to hurt his dad if the news ever got out.

He adds, "The guy gave me a candy bar at the end of the game. I wasn't allowed to have candy at my house, and I felt ashamed that I took the candy. And I was afraid of him. The message was clear he would hurt my dad if I told, and the thought of losing my dad was impossible." But the abuse finally came to a stop after three years when Arnold made a threat of his own against the teen.

He explains, "There was an incident when I was seven. The guy had showed me his gun and aimed it at my dad one day when he arrived home from work. A few days later, I stole my dad's gun and went out in the middle of the street, waived it around and pointed it at his house. It caused a stir in the neighborhood to say the least. After that, I think it slowly stopped. I remember it as him moving away. "

However Arnold, a reformed addict, is now ready to put his painful past behind him - after tracking the man down and confronting him over the abuse: "During my last week of drug and alcohol rehab in 1990, I told what had happened to me for the first time... With the help of a private investigator, I found him and confronted him at his office. Coming out of the building, I felt pure joy."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)