Ariel Winter, the 14-year-old actress who plays Alex Dunphy on "Modern Family," is having some major family drama of her own.
First, Winter was removed from her mother's custody after alleged physical and verbal abuse, including slapping, hitting, pushing, name-calling and personal insults.
But now, Winter's mother, Chrystal Workman, is firing back by not only telling press the allegations are untrue, but also by filing charges against her 14-year-old daughter's 18-year-old boyfriend, actor Cameron Palatas.
"My fourteen-year-old daughter has been dating an eighteen-and-a-half-year-old man, and when I caught them engaging in behavior that I feel my daughter is too young mentally and physically to understand and fully grasp I put a stop to it immediately," Workman said Friday in a statement to TMZ.
Workman tells TMZ she filed a report with the LA County Sheriff's Department "because legally he is an adult and if he wants to engage in adult behavior with a minor than [sic] he should also be ready to suffer adult consequences for his actions."
The police filing, obtained by Celebuzz, details “suspicious circumstances and possible unlawful sex with a minor.”
But many see Workman's allegations as a way to deflect attention away from the abuse allegations, considering she filed the report two weeks after the alleged sexual incident and five days after she lost custody of Ariel.
Workman added in her statement to press, “I love my daughter very much. I would never abuse her in anyway and I have always tried my best to always protect her and do what is right for her."
In the meantime, Winter is still shooting "Modern Family" and is currently in the care of her 34-year-old sister, Shanelle Workman--who was also removed from her mother's care 20 years ago for similar abuse allegations.
Winter's guardianship attorney assures People magazine, "Ariel is doing well and she has a lot of people who are loving her and supporting her at this time, and I'm pretty confident that she'll fare well through all of this. She is obviously a very smart and articulate young lady and an accomplished actress."
SEE ALSO: 14-Year-Old 'Modern Family' Star Removed From Home After Alleged Parental Abuse >
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