David Thornton, the actor and husband of Cyndi Lauper, is facing a civil suit in New York City tied to allegations of sexual assault against the couple’s son, Declyn Lauper.
The suit, obtained by Rolling Stone, was brought by an anonymous Jane Doe, who accused Declyn Lauper of a “brutal sexual assault” in November 2020. This appears to be the same Jane Doe who sued Lauper for sexual assault in 2024, as the alleged incidents described both complaints occurred on Nov. 9, 2020 at an apartment on Thompson Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. Jane Doe’s lawsuit against Lauper was set to head to mediation last year, but right before the hearing, Lauper filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
As for the new lawsuit, it accuses Thornton of “enabling the gender-motivated violence perpetrated against [Doe]” by Declyn Lauper. It argues that Thornton provided Lauper with the apartment where the alleged attack took place “without adequate supervision or restriction” and despite knowing about “his son’s prior sexual violence against women.”
A representative for Thornton did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment, nor did the lawyer for Jane Doe.
According to the lawsuit, Doe said Declyn Lauper “invited” her to the apartment and sent her about $60 to cover her transit. Upon her arrival, the suit claims she and Lauper “disagreed about a sexual act” Declyn wanted Doe “to perform on him.” Doe then said she “insisted on leaving… because she did not feel comfortable.”
Declyn allegedly took Doe’s cell phone to keep her from leaving, then threatened to break it “if she did not perform fellatio on him.” He then allegedly “pushed Jane Doe onto his bed whenever she tried to exit his bedroom.” After pushing Doe onto the bed for a third time, Declyn allegedly held her down while Doe asked to be let up. Declyn allegedly refused, then “proceeded to forcibly smother his genitals over Jane Doe’s mouth, as Jane Doe warned him that she would bite him.”
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Doe said she “gently placed her teeth on [Lauper’s] genitals in an attempt to get him off of her.” This allegedly prompted Lauper to put his bodyweight on Jane Doe’s head and neck, pressing her onto the bed. Lauper allegedly only released Doe when the two of them “heard a pop sound from her neck and upper spine.”
According to the suit, Lauper called Doe a “bitch” and the n-word, and “stated that no one would believe her if she ever repeated what had just transpired.” After leaving the apartment, Doe claimed that Lauper called her “saying that he was sorry for what he had just done to her.” He allegedly tried to contact her several more times, but Doe “refused to see him again.”
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In trying to establish the case against Thornton, and his alleged awareness of his son’s alleged actions, Doe’s lawsuit notes that Lauper’s ex-girlfriend, Brittney Taylor (a contestant on Love & Hip-Hop: New York) publicly accused him in 2018 of domestic violence, physical assault, false imprisonment, and threats of revenge pornography. (It’s unclear if Lauper ever responded to these allegations; a lawyer for Lauper did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.)
The suit also notes Lauper’s two other run-ins with the law: a 2022 arrest for stealing a car outside a rapper’s memorial (he eventually pleaded guilty), and 2024 gun and drug charges connected to a shooting. He also pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to one year of interim probation and substance abuse treatment earlier this month.
