Former Playboy Mansion Resident Says Hefner’s Friends Had ‘Shadow Mansions’
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Alamy
A former resident of the Playboy Mansion has opened up about other places where alleged predatory behaviour took place.
Dr Mark Saginor, one of Hugh Hefner's friends and a member of his inner circle, lived in the Playboy mansion with his daughter, Jennifer Saginor.
Jennifer has since spoken out about her experiences of the mansion and how there were 'shadow mansions' were similar controversies took place to those described by Hefner's ex-girlfriend, Holly Madison, who compared living in the mansion to being in a 'cult'.
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In the latest episode of Secrets of Playboy, Saginor explained how there were replicas of the original Playboy mansion known as 'shadow mansions'.
The shadow mansions were reportedly attended by women who didn't make the cut to go to Hefner's Holmby Hills home; those rated as 'sevens' or 'eights'.
Saginor explained: "By shadow mansion, I mean that these men in Hef’s inner circle would try to emulate what he created in his own empire at the Playboy Mansion.
"And they would have smaller versions of the Playboy mansions, which I would refer to as mini-mansions. They would house these young girls who would come to Los Angeles looking for opportunities to become actresses or models."
Saginor said her father had a 'shadow house' which she moved into at the age of six years old and claims to have been left 'horrified' upon seeing regular sexual abuse and predatory behaviour.
"My father and the inner circle from Playboy created clones of the Playboy Mansion on a smaller scale to sort of lure these young girls in. It was very predatory. These young girls have no idea what’s gonna hit them next," she reflected.
Saginor also alleged some of the girls appeared 'clearly drugged and not coherent' and were blackmailed with recordings 'so they wouldn’t tell anyone or so that they’d sort of fall into this underground system of being available'.
Jackie Hatten - a regular visitor at the Playboy mansion - confirmed Saginor's recollection.
She said: "The experience I had at the mini-mansion parties is immediately walking in, having all the men glom on to you offering you, you know, lines of coke or a bowl of, you know, ecstasy. If you refuse those, they’re trying to shove champagne in your face."
"'Spending time with her' is code for 'Having sex with her'. I think many of the girls stayed in the mini-mansion system because they were scared of being blackmailed with videotapes," Saginor added.
Saginor detailed how girls at the mansion were able to be seen by 'basically, any powerful, wealthy man in Los Angeles who was on the guest list to attend the mini-mansion parties'.
Rachel Myers - who regularly visited the Playboy mansion - explained how the mini-mansions hosted very 'similar parties' but just on a 'lower scale'.
She said: "I would see the same guys at the mini-mansions that I would see at the Playboy Mansion.
"So I think there was definitely a learned behaviour from the mansion to the mini-mansions. These men got some ideas on how to manipulate women."
Dr Saginor was reportedly known for doling out prescriptions frugally, so much so he became known as Dr. Feelgood.
For over 30 years, he was not only Hefner's close friend and physician, but he was also allegedly the Playboy founder's lover.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org