The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau has begun a criminal investigation into Smokey Robinson. “The investigation is in the early stages, and we have no further comment,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
The investigation comes a week and a half after four women filed a lawsuit against the singer accusing him of sexually harassing and raping them. The alleged incidents date back to 2007. The four plaintiffs, all former housekeepers of Robinson’s who were listed as Jane Does in the suit, said they did not contact police at the time of the alleged incidents because they were afraid of being fired and worried about their immigration status.
“Our clients intend to fully cooperate with LASD’s ongoing investigation in the pursuit of seeking justice for themselves and others that may have been similarly assaulted by him,” John Harris and Herbert Hayden, attorneys for the plaintiffs, said in a statement, according to TMZ.
“We are aware that a police report has now been filed by the Plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit,” Robinson’s attorney, Christopher Frost, tells Rolling Stone. “It is clear to us what is happening here. Plaintiffs filed a police report only after they filed a $50 million lawsuit. This means only that the police are now required to investigate.” Frost adds that he and his client “welcome the investigation,” believing it will determine “Robinson did nothing wrong.”
The suit alleged that Robinson would isolate the women at his homes in the San Fernando Valley and Las Vegas where he’d force himself upon them without their consent. The suit included claims of sexual assault, sexual battery, false imprisonment, and gender violence against Robinson and named Robinson’s wife, Frances, as a co-defendant for allegedly creating a hostile work environment, negligence, and intentional and negligent emotional distress.
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“We’re seeking damages of $50 million,” Harris, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said at a press conference in early May. “Obviously, no amount of money can compensate these women for what Mr. Robinson subjected them to, but given the gravity of Mr. Robinson’s despicable and reprehensible misconduct, that is further detailed in the complaint, this amount is clearly warranted.”
Frost previously described the accusations in the lawsuit as “vile, false allegations.” The lawyer promised evidence that “will show that this is simply an ugly method of trying to extract money” from Robinson.
