Mel Gibson met with detectives to discuss extortion claims, report says

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Mel Gibson has met with detectives to discuss his claims that ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva attempted to extort money from him, the Associated Press on Tuesday quoted a sheriff's official as saying.

Grigorieva has denied the allegations, made amid an escalating custody battle over their baby daughter, Lucia.

The 40-year-old Russian model and musician had previously accused the actor of verbal and physical abuse and recordings of an expletive and racial slur-filled rant by the actor against her have been posted on RadarOnline. Gibson, 54, has not commented on them, while Grigorieva's attorney denies she provided them to the website.

The couple, who broke up in April after a one-year relationship, filed restraining orders against each other recently. Los Angeles detectives were recently given copies of the recordings to analyze as part of an investigation of possible domestic violence. They are investigating claims by Grigorieva that Gibson abused her during a January confrontation. No charges have been filed and no arrests have been made.

Photos have surfaced of Grigorieva with damaged teeth and recently, one of what is said to be her eye, surrounded by bruising. RadarOnline quotes her as saying Gibson allegedly hit her in the mouth and head, near her left temple. The entire face of the person in the photo is not revealed.

In a recording posted on Monday, the woman said: "I am just fearing for the life of my daughter. I'm saving my life and I'm saving my daughter's life. You almost killed us, did you forget? You were hitting a woman with a child in her hands. What kind of a man is that? Hitting a woman when shes holding a child in her hands? Breaking her teeth twice in the face! What kind of man is that?"

In other posted recordings, the man uses racial slurs against African-Americans and Hispanics while insulting the woman's dress style. The woman often refers to the man as "Mel" and accuses him of ruining her music career and controlling her "like a marionette."

Gibson completed a stint in rehab following a 2006 DUI tirade in which he hurled anti-Semitic and sexist comments at the arresting police officers. He later entered rehab for alcohol-related treatment. His conviction has since been expunged.

Gibson has six sons and a daughter with ex-wife Robyn, to whom he was married for some 30 years and divorced in 2009, and Grigorieva has a son with another ex-boyfriend, James Bond star Timothy Dalton.

Gibson's former wife recently told a Los Angeles judge overseeing his custody battle with Grigorieva that "Mel never engaged in any physical abuse of any kind toward me before, during or after our marriage. Mel was a wonderful and loving father."

RadarOnline.com is owned by American Media, Inc., which owns publications such as The National Enquirer and Star magazine.

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