JFK Jr was forced to support William Kennedy Smith due to blackmail threat

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William Kennedy Smith was accused of raping Patricia Bowman in 1991
John F Kennedy Jr was blackmailed into attending cousin's Florida trial
Confided about situation to friend according to biography about RFK Jr
Palm Beach jury acquitted Smith of sexual assault and battery on Bowman

Published: 08:31 EST, 6 September 2015 | Updated: 15:08 EST, 6 September 2015

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A member of John F Kennedy Jr's own family threatened to release damaging information about him to the press if he did not support his cousin after he was accused of a raping a woman in 1991.

When William Kennedy Smith was accused of raping Patricia Bowman in Palm Beach, Florida, after a night of drinking with his uncle, Ted Kennedy, JFK Jr was blackmailed into supporting him.

JFK Jr went to the trial twice during jury selection against the wishes of his mother Jackie Onassis, according to a new book, RFK, Jr.: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Dark Side of the Dream.

John F Kennedy Jr (left) was blackmailed into attending the trial of his cousin William Kennedy Smith (right)

JFK Jr went to the trial of Kennedy Smith twice during jury selection against the wishes of his mother

In 1991, a jury acquitted Kennedy Smith (left) of sexual assault and battery on Patricia Bowman (right)

Kennedy Smith's mother Jean Kennedy Smith is a former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.

He is the nephew of deceased Sen Kennedy of Massachusetts and the late President Kennedy.

An acquaintance of JFK Jr, James Ridgway de Szigethy, gave a statement to a Congress member in 1993 revealing Kennedy Smith's behavior was a family secret, author Jerry Oppenheimer wrote.

Jackie Onassis is pictured here with JFK Jr

De Szigethy said JFK Jr told him 'they should have done something about Willie years ago when he first started doing this', meaning... 'raping women', according to the New York Post.

The then-Manhattan assistant district attorney also told de Szigethy he was going to attend the trial against his own wishes and the wishes of his mother because he was facing pressure to make a show of support for his cousin or else information that would harm his reputation would be leaked to the press by a family member.

De Szigethy's affidavit mentioned blackmail.

JFK Jr allegedly said: 'You just don't understand the pressure I'm under.'

A Florida jury acquitted Smith of sexual assault and battery on Bowman following a ten-day trial.

He claimed the sex between him and his accuser had been consensual.

Another sexual assault claim levied against Kennedy Smith was dismissed in 2004 while an additional claim was settled out of court the following year.

In 2004, Kennedy Smith said his 'family and personal history have made me unusually vulnerable to these kinds of charges'.

More information about Oppenheimer's biography of Robert F Kennedy Jr is available here.