'How to Get Away With Murder' Star Karla Souza Says She Was Raped by Movie Director

Souza -- who plays Laurel Castillo on ABC drama "How to Get Away With Murder" -- told CNN en Español that she was assaulted by a former director, whose name she did not disclose, during a one-month shoot in Mexico early in her career.

Souza said that all her castmates on set were put up in one hotel, and that she was put up in a different one -- the same one at which the director in question was staying.

"He knocked on my door saying he wanted to go over some scenes, and I thought, 'It's 2 a.m. This is not appropriate and it shouldn't be happening,'" Souza recalled.

Souza said she answered the door, reluctantly, and the director came in. He began talking about her career and said things to make her feel special, including that he made an excellent choice in casting her. Souza said the director would inch closer and closer to her as he was talking, and that this sort of situation happened on "various nights."

Souza said the director would also send her messages saying things like, "You were in my dream yesterday."

One night, however, Souza decided not to open the door for him, which he punished her for the next day on set.

"He decided not to shoot my scene and began humiliating me in front of everyone on set," she said, adding that her castmates took note and praised her for putting up with his temper toward her. "This was the psychological control he started to hold over me."

After a month of dealing with the director's "total abuse of power," Souza finally gave him what he wanted.

"I ended up giving in to him and let him kiss me, touch me in ways I did not want him to touch me, and in one of those instances, he attacked me violently," she said, wiping away tears. "Yes, he raped me."