Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label gloria allred. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gloria allred. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Pop star Chris Brown named in sex assault lawsuit


by Tamara Kachelmeier and Biodun Iginla, France24 Entertainment reporters, Los Angeles

    © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File / by Jocelyne ZABLIT | The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, said she was lured to the Chris Brown's house following a concert at a nightclub in February 2017

    LOS ANGELES - 
    A Los Angeles woman filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Chris Brown and a fellow rapper, alleging she was repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted at Brown's home during a drug- and alcohol-fueled party last year.
    The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, said she was lured to the singer's house following a concert at a nightclub on February 23, 2017 and was raped several times by Lowell Grissom, who performs under the name Young Lo.
    She also alleges that another unidentified woman at the party assaulted her, forcing her into performing oral sex.
    The assault was all the more gruesome, the lawsuit alleges, as the attacker -- identified as Doe X -- was menstruating at the time.
    "This is one of the most horrific cases involving alleged sexual assault that I have ever seen," Gloria Allred, one of three lawyers representing the woman, said in a statement.
    "Our client, Jane Doe, has been severely traumatized by what she was forced to suffer."
    According to the lawsuit, following a concert at 1 Oak club in West Hollywood, the plaintiff and her roommate went to an after party where they met Grissom and Brown and had their phones confiscated.
    The suit says that the plaintiff later ended up at Brown's home as she was told by Grissom she could retrieve her cell phone at that location, where the party was continuing.
    "Our client alleges ... she was forced to go to Brown's home because she perceived that she would only be able to retrieve her phone there," Allred said.
    The lawsuit said that the 29-year-old rapper provided alcohol and drugs, including cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana, at his home.
    He also gave each female guest a clear capsule filled with white powder and instructed them to take it to have a "good time," the suit alleges, adding that the plaintiff refused to take the drug.
    - 'Wants justice for herself' -
    The complaint says that at one point, the plaintiff was led to a bedroom where several women were having sex with Grissom and Brown.
    "Plaintiff refused to undress and made it clear that she did not want to engage in any sexual activity with anyone," according to the document.
    It said that the plaintiff was subsequently repeatedly raped by Grissom and assaulted by Doe X. She was later allowed to leave the room by Doe X, who instructed her to take a shower.
    "Plaintiff looked in the mirror and was horrified to see that she was covered in Doe X's blood because Doe X had been menstruating," the suit states.
    It said the victim eventually was allowed to call a ride-sharing service to get home.
    "She filed this lawsuit because she wants justice for herself, but she also wants to warn other young women about the potential danger to themselves if they have their phone taken away and if they go to Chris Brown's house," Allred said.
    Brown and Grissom's publicists could not be immediately reached for comment.
    Contacted by us at France24, Los Angeles police said there was "no open investigation at this time regarding Chris Brown."

    Thursday, April 26, 2018

    BREAKING: Bill Cosby found guilty of sexual assault in retrial


    Media captionLawyer on Cosby verdict: 'Finally, women are believed in court'
    by Alyssa Mann and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Norristown, Pennsylvania
    US comedian Bill Cosby has been found guilty of three counts of sexual assault, each of which carries a potential 10 years in prison.
    The actor, 80, has been on trial for drugging and assaulting ex-basketball player Andrea Constand in 2004.
    Cosby, the first major black actor on primetime TV, will remain out of jail until he is sentenced, the judge ruled.
    He unleashed an expletive-filled rant after the verdict, as prosecutors argued he should be denied bail.
    The prosecutor argued that he should be held because he is "somebody who has unlimited wealth" and could flee on a private plane.
    "He doesn't have a plane," Cosby then erupted, adding a vulgarity which he directed at the prosecutor.
    "I feel like my faith in humanity is restored," Cosby accuser Lili Bernard said outside the courthouse.
    "We are so happy that finally we can say, women are believed, and not only on #MeToo, but in a court of law," lawyer Gloria Allred said.
    Ms Constand (centre) has yet to speak about the trial's conclusionImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
    Image captionMs Constand (centre) has yet to speak about the trial's conclusion
    It was the second time the actor had stood trial for the allegations, after an earlier jury failed to reach a verdict in June 2017.
    At the start of the retrial in Pennsylvania it was revealed that Cosby had paid Ms Constand almost $3.4m (£2.4m) in a civil settlement in 2006.
    Cosby is best known for starring in the 1980s TV series The Cosby Show.
    Around 60 women over five decades have publicly accused the Emmy award-winning actor of being a sexual predator. But statute of limitation laws mean that only one charge has been brought to trial.
    Some of his accusers were present in court, and cried as the guilty verdict was returned.
    Cosby's lawyer Tom Mesereau insisted "the fight is not over", adding that he believes Cosby is innocent and that he plans to file an appeal.
    Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, who brought the charges against Cosby, held a press conference after the verdict.
    Cosby at the NAACP awardsImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
    Image captionCosby has been stripped of numerous awards and accolades in the previous decade
    "Money and power or who you are will not stop us from a criminal investigation and prosecuting a case," Mr Steele said, as Ms Constand stood beside him.
    When the attack took place, Ms Constand was working as director of operations for the women's basketball team at Temple University, Philadelphia.
    She told the court she had gone to the home of her then friend Cosby, to discuss her resignation.
    She said he had given her three blue pills to "help take the edge off," which she believed to be a natural remedy.
    Minutes later, she was suffering double vision and quickly lost consciousness.
    She awoke to find Cosby groping her breasts and penetrating her, she said, adding that the drugs made her physically unable to fight back.
    Ms Constand reported the attack, but the district attorney refused to press charges. The case was reopened in 2015.
    Andrea Constand pictured at courtImage copyrightAFP/GETTY IMAGES
    Image captionAndrea Constand was once a friend of Cosby's
    Presentational grey line

    Analysis: A ruling that's a sign of our times

    Nada Tawfik, BBC News, Norristown, Pennsylvania
    This verdict is being celebrated as a major win for the #MeToo movement. It shows that the shift in our society and culture from doubting to believing victims is also affecting the justice system. Bill Cosby's lawyers anticipated this and took direct aim at the movement during the trial, telling the jury "mob rule is not due process." But ultimately, the jury sided with Andrea Constand and set aside the 80-year-old comedian's wholesome image as American's favourite dad.
    At one time, there was no star bigger than Bill Cosby. He was the most watched man on television, a role model for minorities trying to break into Hollywood. And despite years of allegations, he seemed untouchable. That has now all changed, and there is no doubt that this verdict will have far-reaching consequences.
    Presentational grey line
    Judge Steven O'Neill allowed five of Cosby's other accusers to serve as "prior bad acts" witnesses during the trial, as the prosecution sought to establish a pattern of misconduct.
    Heidi Thomas told the court that the comedian served her spiked wine that made her drowsy for four days in 1984.
    Former US model Janice Dickinson was among those who testified, alleging that Cosby drugged and raped her at a hotel in 1982, when she was 27 years old.
    "I wanted to hit him, wanted to punch him in the face," Ms Dickinson, 63, told the courtroom in Norristown, Pennsylvania. "I felt anger, was humiliated, disgusted, ashamed."
    Janice DickinsonImage copyrightREUTERS
    Image captionFormer model Janice Dickinson has accused Cosby of raping her in 1982
    The former reality television star testified Mr Cosby offered her a blue pill that he said would help with discomfort from menstrual cramps.
    "He smelled like cigars and espresso and his body odour," she said. "I couldn't move, I felt like I was rendered motionless.
    "Here was America's dad on top of me, happily married man with five children and how very, very wrong it was," she said.
    The case against Cosby was one of the first celebrity assault trials conducted in the light of the #MeToo movement, which has raised awareness of alleged sexual misconduct by a number of powerful media figures.

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