A former housekeeper suing Smokey Robinson for sexual assault is denying she’s the woman allegedly caught on “blurry” surveillance video raiding the Motown musician’s storage unit in southern California last month.
Robinson and his wife, Frances, have accused the woman, identified in court filings as Jane Doe 4, of accessing their unit without permission on Nov. 22 and stealing multiple boxes in a brazen burglary caught on surveillance video. The Robinsons’ lawyer, Christopher Frost, told a judge Thursday that Frances reviewed the footage, identified the culprit as Jane Doe 4, filed a police report, and was seeking an emergency restraining order.
“It’s blurry, like security tapes are, but it’s clear to Mrs. Robinson who it was,” Frost said during a morning hearing. “You have to know the code, and you have to have a key to the lock. The only person who had that code and that key was Jane Doe 4.”
Her lawyer disputed the claim. “Our client has flatly denied any sort of involvement with this alleged burglary,” Herbert Hayden told the court, adding that Frost had not produced the video. “It’s completely and patently false.”
Los Angeles County Judge Kevin C. Brazile declined to issue a restraining order. “A police report has been filed. I’m going to see what happens,” he said. “If police are investigating, let them investigate.”
After the hearing, Hayden reiterated his client’s denial to Rolling Stone, saying that if the video clearly depicts his client, it could be “some type of A.I. fabrication.” Co-counsel John W. Harris added that Jane Doe 4 was at work when the break-in allegedly occurred and has not been contacted by investigators.
Rolling Stone has obtained a redacted copy of the police report filed with LAPD on Tuesday, which states that the allegedly stolen property was valued at $3,300. “[Suspect], an ex-employee, gained access to [victim’s] storage units with a key and code without the [victim’s] consent,” the report reads.
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“The allegation that the video is somehow fabricated is false, desperate, and candidly, unethical,” Frost says in a statement to Rolling Stone. “This is not a game. The video is the same one provided to us by the storage facility. If the Jane Does will waive their confidentiality arguments, we will share the video beyond the court. The court already has it, and so does the LAPD.”
According to a sworn declaration filed this week, Frances claims she discovered the alleged theft on Monday after visiting the Chatsworth facility to retrieve holiday decorations. She says an employee showed her 40 minutes of footage of Jane Doe 4 and two other people going to and from the unit.
“As Jane Doe worked with my family for approximately 19 years, until April 2024, I have no doubt that one of the three individuals,” was the ex-employee, she says. Frances alleges the trio removed several boxes and two five-foot Santa statues.
Jane Doe 4 worked for the Robinsons as a housekeeper, cook, and personal assistant for nearly two decades, starting in 2006. She was one of the four former domestic workers who sued the Robinsons for $50 million last May, alleging sexual harassment, rape, and a hostile work environment. The women allege Robinson, 85, isolated them at his homes in the San Fernando Valley and Las Vegas and repeatedly coerced them into sexual contact. The first alleged incident took place in 2007. Each woman alleges she was raped.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau previously confirmed it was investigating the claims. The Robinsons have denied the allegations and counter-sued the women for defamation and elder abuse.
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Last month, the women’s lawyers sought to add two more accusers, including a former car-detailing valet who alleges Robinson made unwanted sexual advances. In a response, the Robinsons called the effort “a desperate last-ditch” attempt to press “salacious, outlandish claims for media attention” and force a payout.
