LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is “actively investigating criminal allegations” against Smokey Robinson, the agency confirmed Thursday, just over a week after four of the Motown legend’s former housekeepers filed a lawsuit alleging that he repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped them while they worked for him.
“The investigation is in the early stages, and we have no further comment,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement provided to ABC7.
Robinson’s attorney Christopher Frost also issued a statement Thursday.
“We are aware that a police report has now been filed by the Plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit. It is clear to us what is happening here,” the statement said. “Plaintiffs filed a police report only after they filed a $50 million lawsuit. This means only that the police are now required to investigate.
“We welcome that investigation, which involves Plaintiffs who continue to hide their identities, because exposure to the truth is a powerful thing,” Frost said. “We feel confident that a determination will be made that Mr. Robinson did nothing wrong, and that this is a desperate attempt to prejudice public opinion and make even more of a media circus than the Plaintiffs were previously able to create.”
The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court claims the alleged assaults occurred between 2007 and 2024, along with labor violations including a hostile work environment, illegally long hours and lack of pay.
“We believe that Mr. Robinson is a serial and sick rapist, and must be stopped,” the women’s attorney John Harris said at a news conference last week.
Many of the alleged acts occurred at Robinson’s Chatsworth home.
The four women each say that Robinson would wait until he was alone with them in his house, then sexually assault and rape them over their objections.
Smokey Robinson attends the screening for “The Apollo” during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival on April 24, 2019, in New York. Robinson’s latest album is “Gasms.”
Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File
The singer’s wife, Frances, is also named in the lawsuit, which accuses her of knowing about the alleged misconduct. It also blames her for the hostile work environment, saying she berated them with language that included ethnic slurs.
“We believe she was aware of the misconduct by her husband, Smokey Robinson, and that she used their status as well as our clients’ reliance on their living wage in order to keep them in check,” plaintiffs’ attorney Herbert Hayden said regarding Frances’ alleged role.
The former housekeepers appeared at a May 6 news conference but attempted to conceal their identities and did not speak. Their lawyers say the women all made below minimum wage and weren’t paid overtime – all factors for why they didn’t speak up.
“They all feared missing a payday and not being able to pay their rent or buy food for their families,” Harris said.
Attorneys added that Robinson’s celebrity status intimidated the women and made them feel powerless. They said their clients have not reported the alleged misconduct to police but that that could change.
Robinson is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He rose to fame as a member of the Motown group the Miracles and as a solo artist.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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