Def Jam Recordings co-founder Russell Simmons is as soon as once more dealing with a lawsuit from a former worker who says he raped her at his Manhattan house within the Nineteen Nineties.
The accuser, who has been recognized solely as Jane Doe, initially introduced the go well with in opposition to Simmons final yr.
Final month, the go well with was dismissed by a federal decide on account of jurisdiction points, after Simmons claimed he’s a “stateless” citizen dwelling in Indonesia at a resort in Bali he co-owns.
Earlier on Thursday the Jane Doe plaintiff refiled her criticism, which has been seen by The Unbiased, in a New York state courtroom. The sooner go well with had been filed in federal courtroom, however Choose John Koeltl sided with Simmons and dismissed the go well with on the idea it didn’t contain events in numerous US states.
“Forced sex is against the law. Stop saying the rules are different now; it was wrong then too. I thought the justice system would hold him accountable, and here we are talking about jurisdiction, and I’m watching this legal gamesmanship he plays to avoid it. It just makes me want to push harder.”
According to the legal filing, Doe took on a job as an executive at Def Jam in the 1990s, which involved being responsible for all film production.
She says she routinely went to Simmons’s apartment to conduct business, as was normal at the time for all label employees.
“It was a very casual environment for everyone,” the complaint states.
On the day of the alleged assault, she delivered a rough cut of a video to Simmons’s apartment. He began allegedly flirting with the woman and making sexual advances, including asking whether she was wearing a bra.
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The criticism states that Simmons proceeded to ask the lady if she would have intercourse with him. She stated she wouldn’t. Simmons continued to push the topic, in line with the information. He started to “wrestle” her, initially making an attempt to look playful, earlier than pinning the lady down and raping her, the paperwork state.
The lady left the label in 1997, after the incident occurred. She didn’t inform anybody in regards to the alleged abuse for weeks and skilled extreme dissociation, despair and anxiousness.
The Unbiased has approached Simmons’s authorized workforce for remark.
