Just days after four former housekeepers claimed the soul singer repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted them, motown legend Smokey Robinson was sued by law enforcement in Los Angeles on Thursday, the Los Angeles-based band’s attorney said.
According to a statement sent to AFP, “The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau is actively looking into criminal allegations involving William Robinson, aka “Smokey Robinson.”
There is no further comment because the investigation is still in its early stages.
A multimillion dollar lawsuit was filed in a Los Angeles court alleging the 85-year-old had repeatedly forced himself on female employees while his wife was away from home.
The sheriff’s department declined to provide more information about the nature of the investigation, but plaintiffs’ attorneys told AFP that their clients were cooperating with it.
In a joint statement to AFP, Herbert Hayden and John Harris both stated, “We are pleased to learn that the LA County Sheriff’s Department has opened a criminal investigation into our clients’ claims of sexual assault against Smokey Robinson.”
“Our clients intend to fully cooperate with LASD’s ongoing investigation in order to bring about justice for himself and others who may have experienced similar assaults from him.”
One plaintiff alleges that the “Tracks of My Tears” singer would call her to his Los Angeles bedroom and greet her there with only his underwear.
Despite her protestations, he would sexually assault her afterward, according to the lawsuit, which claimed there had been seven such attacks between March 2023 and February 2024.
One former housekeeper alleges that Robinson sexually harassed, assaulted, and raped her throughout her 12-year employment until 2024, while another claims that she was more than 20 times over the course of a four-year period.
The singer claims that the fourth woman was assaulted when she and him took her to his Las Vegas residence in 2007.
The suit does not name any of the women, which is common in sexual assault claims.
The women were afraid of assaults on Robinson’s character, according to the lawsuit, which seeks at least $50 million in damages.
One of the founding members of The Miracles, a Detroit-based band that formed in the 1950s, was Robinson.
Source: Channels TV
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