SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah woman who filed a lawsuit Monday accusing actor Tom Sizemore of groping her at a photo shoot when she was 11 said she is standing up for other child actors.

Kiersten Pyke, 26, spoke for the first time Monday at her attorney’s office in Salt Lake City about six months after her allegations against Sizemore surfaced. Pyke said her dreams of having an acting career evaporated after the 2003 incident during production of the “Born Killers” movie, leaving her with post-traumatic stress and drug and alcohol addiction that have plagued her life.

She and her attorney Robert Sykes said they don’t think Sizemore will be able to pay the $3 million in damages they are seeking because his career has sputtered, but the lawsuit is about sending a message.

“It’s not OK to touch children, plain and simple,” Pyke said. “Whatever comes from it it’s not for me at this point. … There are children out there who may watch this and, like I did, will say something to their mommies or their daddies.”

As she spoke, flanked by her therapy dog – a grey pit bull named Diesel, she added: “You can’t put a price on a childhood that I lost.”

The Associated Press doesn’t usually name alleged victims of sexual assault but Pyke has decided to go public with her story.

Sizemore denied the “highly disturbing” allegation when it surfaced last year, saying he would never inappropriately touch a child.

Sizemore spokeswoman Michelle Salem did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment.

Salt Lake City police investigated in 2003, but prosecutors didn’t file charges, citing witness and evidence problems.

Sizemore’s career has included prominent roles in “Saving Private Ryan” and “Black Hawk Down,” but he’s been dogged by drug abuse and domestic violence arrests.