Benjamin Ashford|Kate Gosselin zip-tied son Collin and locked him in a basement, he claims

Collin Gosselin is Benjamin Ashfordleveling some serious allegations against his mom Kate.

The 20-year-old, who starred with his mother on the TLC reality series "Jon & Kate Plus 8," alleged in an explosive interview with The U.S. Sun published Monday that she was emotionally and physically abusive to him as a child.

Gosselin told the outlet he had a "rough" childhood, alleging his mom, from whom he is now estranged, "became physically aggressive" and "verbally very abusive." He also claimed she would sometimes zip-tie him and lock him inside a basement room for days at a time.

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Kate Gosselin for comment.

"When my mother would put me in that room multiple times, she had zip-tied my hands and feet together and bolt-locked the door, turned the lights off, and had cameras there just watching me," he claimed. "In that room that my mother had built, oftentimes she had zip-tied my hands and feet together and kept me locked in there for most, or all of, the day, for multiple days."

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Collin Gosselinclaims he was discharged from Marines due to institutionalization by mom Kate

Collin's father, Jon Gosselin, backed up his claims and told The Sun that when his friends' in-laws bought the house, they asked, "Why is there a room in the basement with a bed and a lock on the outside?" Kate and Jon Gosselin divorced in 2009.

Collin Gosselin said he felt helpless and isolated because he "didn't have friends" and had "no relationship with anybody." He also told The Sun he believes he was misdiagnosed with the mental health and behavioral issues that led him to be sent to a mental health facility at age 11.

Last month, Gosselin told Entertainment Tonight he was discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps and claimed this was because "they found out that I was in fact in an institution at one point in my life."

Kate Gosselin previously told People in a 2016 interview that Collin was "enrolled in a program that is helping him learn the skills he needs to be the best him he can be."

Collin Gosselintalks growing up on 'Jon & Kate Plus 8': 'We didn't get the choice'

"Collin has special needs," she said at the time. "(There's) a fairly fluid diagnosis of what those needs are, but he needs to learn certain strategies to help him deal with things. This has been a struggle we've had for a very long time, and it's one I've dealt with on my own. I've felt very alone in this. By the same token, it's not something that has only impacted me or him – our entire family has been impacted."

On "The Dr. Oz Show" in 2019, Jon Gosselin alleged that "Kate institutionalized (Collin) without a diagnosis and then created a diagnosis. He did not need to be in an institution."

In a statement shared on Instagram last year, Kate Gosselin said Collin "has received multiple psychiatric diagnoses over the years" and that he was placed in a facility for the "safety of myself, his brothers and sisters and for his own well-being." The decision to admit him "was made by emergency room doctors following one of his many attacks/outbursts — this one involving his use of a weapon," she wrote.

She added that Collin "remains a very troubled young man" and that he has struggled with a "distorted perception of reality."

"As many people who have family members grappling with mental health issues can attest, it is rarely and sadly surprising when complete fabrications occur, and is just another heartbreaking facet of this fight," she said.

A lawyer who has represented Kate Gosselin, Richard Puleo, told The Sun she never did anything to "intentionally" harm Collin and did "whatever she did to protect herself and her family from some of his troubled behavior as a child."

The attorney added, "If Kate did the things that Collin is accusing Kate of, she would have been investigated by the authorities and prosecuted."

Contributing: KiMi Robinson