Celebrity News:

The ex-nanny who accused Rob Lowe of repeatedly sexually abusing her for years came out of hiding Tuesday to stand by the shocking allegations she's lodged against the aging prettyboy.

Jessica Gibson insists that the former "West Wing" star often stuck his hand down her pants and propositioned her during the seven years she cared for his two sons, according to court papers.

The nanny appeared on NBC's "Today" and said she never called the police because she needed the job and hoped the abuse would stop.

"You know, I loved the children, I needed the job," the beautiful brunette said. "I always thought it would get better."

She also suggested she feared the groping could escalate.

"I was scared," she said.

Appearing on "Today" with the 24-year-old Gibson was celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, who vowed to play hardball with Lowe, 44, who now stars in ABC's "Brothers & Sisters."

Lowe and his wife, Sheryl, fired the first legal salvo at Gibson last week when he accused her of trying to blackmail him to the tune of $1.5 million.

Allred claimed Lowe filed his lawsuit, which targets Gibson and two other domestic workers, after his attorneys saw "the original content of our suit."

"They may have thought their preemptive strike would intimidate our client," Allred said. "I can assure them it will not."

Gibson's court papers claim that between 2005 and last January, Lowe "placed his hand inside Gibson's pants in order to touch her crotch" and "grabbed Gibson's buttocks without consent."

Lowe's lawyer emphatically denied Gibson's claims, noting that she sent e-mails thanking them when she left the job.

"[She said] she loved the Lowes and her leaving had nothing to do with them," said Larry Stein, the lawyer.

Since the legal feud erupted, Lowe has enlisted several current employees to take his side against Gibson, People magazine reported.

"Jessica never told me . . . that Rob ever said or did anything that she found inappropriate or offensive," property manager Carol Andrade said in a sworn affidavit obtained by the magazine.

This is not Lowe's first sex scandal: In 1988, he gained international notoriety when a video emerged of him having a three-way sex romp. One of the two female participants was only 16.

Lowe gained attention in the 1980s as a member of Hollywood's so-called Brat Pack, appearing in such films as "The Outsiders," "Class" and "St. Elmo's Fire."