New lawsuit Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee sexually assaulted a woman in the cockpit of a helicopter after being “lured” into the helicopter by the musician's private pilot.
In the complaint filed Friday in Los Angeles, plaintiff Jane Doe accuses Lee of “violently groping, kissing, and fingering her and attempting to force her to perform oral intercourse” during the 40-minute trip from San Diego County in Van. Nuys, California in February 2003.
The new lawsuit, received from Rolling rock, states that the woman met the pilot, identified as David Marge, around early 2002 when he patronized the San Diego bank where she worked as a teller. The two struck up a friendship and would occasionally meet for lunch at a restaurant called Casa Machado, the filing claims. Martz invited the woman to ride in his helicopter, but she was hesitant at first because she had never been in a helicopter, the lawsuit states. Eventually, the woman agreed, and in early 2003, she met Martz at an airport for what she thought would be a sightseeing trip around San Diego County, she says. Upon arrival, the woman claims she was told plans changed at the last minute and she and Martz would fly with Lee to Los Angeles.
“Within minutes of being in the air, Martz removed the alcohol he had stored in the helicopter and began mixing drinks,” the complaint states. The woman says Martz gave her a drink that she did not consume. He claims Martz and Lee were drinking, smoking marijuana, and snorting cocaine during the flight. At one point, Martz asked her over the helicopter's headset why she wasn't drinking and said she should 'just chill,'” the lawsuit states.
The woman claims Martz finally ordered her to the cockpit to sit on Lee's lap to get the best view. Feeling “tremendous pressure,” he agreed, the filing states. Almost immediately, Lee began groping and kissing her, she claims, and when she tried to pull away, “he got stronger.”
“At one point, Lee penetrated the plaintiff with his fingers while caressing her breasts. Lee then pulled down his pants and attempted to push plaintiff's head toward his genitals. At this point, the plaintiff was in tears but had nowhere to go – she was trapped with little mobility to leave the cockpit,” the lawsuit alleges. The woman claims Martz “just watched” the alleged attack and said nothing to her as they drove back to San Diego after dropping Lee off in Van Nuys.
The plaintiff says she had no contact with Martz for several years, but spoke with him on the phone in June 2009 when she called to catch up. The conversation was very brief, and then Martz died in a Cessna crash in August 2015, the filing states.
The woman says the alleged attack caused her “great shock, distress, humiliation, shame and guilt” and that she did not report it because she believed it was an isolated incident and the police would not take her seriously. He now believes Martz and Lee “had a history of lewd and unlawful behavior on Martz's helicopter,” the lawsuit says.
The complaint, filed by attorneys Neville Johnson, Douglas Johnson and Melissa Eubanks, alleges sexual assault, gender-based violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. In addition to Lee, it names Mayhem Touring, Tommy Lee Inc., A Natural High Helicopters and Social Helicopters as defendants. The woman is seeking past, present and future damages, including but not limited to medical expenses, lost earnings and loss of earning capacity.
Efforts to reach a representative for Lee were not immediately successful Friday night.
The new lawsuit is not the first time Martz has faced allegations that he flew under the influence. The Associated Press reported in 2009 that the pilot arrested on suspicion of DUI after he allegedly flew too close to a police helicopter and failed to follow instructions from the Van Nuys Airport flight tower. He was released without arrest after his field sobriety test was inconclusive.
After Martz's death in 2015, Mr Los Angeles Times he mentioned that he had lost his pilot's license three times before, with one of the recalls stemming from allegations that he had oral sex with an adult film star while flying in a helicopter. The pilot was charged with reckless operation of an aircraft in 2006 after he landed a helicopter on a public road in the Hollywood Hills to take Lee to a Nine Inch Nails concert. The times mentionted.
