Electronic music producer Bassnectar is asking a federal judge to throw out a long-running lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing three underage girls, arguing that all three alleged victims lied about their ages and instigated the relationships themselves.
In a motion filed Monday (November 4) in federal court in Nashville, attorneys for the DJ (Lorin Ashton) argued that the case did not need to be tried by a jury because the discovery process — the examination of evidence during a civil lawsuit – had revealed that the allegations were unfounded.
“Discovery has confirmed that when each of the plaintiffs first contacted the defendant, he lied not only about their age, but also about their education level, as well as their work and life experiences,” the plaintiffs wrote. his lawyers. “Each plaintiff admitted that he deceived the defendant into believing that she was over the age of eighteen.”
Ashton's lawyers also say the discovery process also made it “crystal clear” that DJ “never forced — in any way — the plaintiffs to have sex with him.”
“To the contrary, the record demonstrates that the pursuit of a sexual relationship between the parties was instigated by Plaintiffs, each of whom was at all times free to continue or terminate it,” his attorneys wrote. “The plaintiffs simply cannot prove that they were coerced or felt they had no choice but to engage in a sexual relationship with the defendant.”
The filing comes more than three years after the three women – Rachel Ramsbottom, Alexis Bowling and Jenna Houston – filed a lawsuit, accusing Ashton of using his “power and influence to groom and ultimately sexually victimize underage girls.” .
The lawsuit, which accuses Ashton of sex trafficking, child pornography and negligence, alleges the star invited minors to his shows, brought them to hotel rooms and provided “large sums of cash and other items of value” in exchange for sex.
Last month, Ashton's lawyers moved for “summary judgment,” meaning the judge would decide the case without taking it to a jury. They said, among many other arguments, that state law enforcement had investigated Ramsbottom's allegations and federal authorities had looked into Houston's — and that prosecutors had declined to file charges in both cases.
Responding to that move last month, prosecutors' lawyers criticized Ashton for trying to dismiss the case, claiming he had made damning admissions during depositions, including “knowing very well” that Ramsbottom was under 18 . ” them in a way that facilitated abuse.
“He entered their teenage lives as a famous celebrity, built their trust, and made it so that the withdrawal of his affection or the threat of it, which the plaintiffs now understand to be abusive, caused each to continue their interaction with the defendant he wrote at the time.
With Monday's response from Ashton's lawyers, the case is now in the hands of a judge, who will decide in the coming weeks or months whether to order a jury trial or dismiss the charges.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/pro/bassnectar-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-dj-asks-judge-dismiss-case/
