Former Def Jam president Kevin Liles wants to dismiss sexual assault lawsuit
Kevin Liles, the former president of Def Jam Recordings, has asked the court for permission to file a motion to dismiss a sexual assault lawsuit against him. An anonymous woman sued him in February, claiming several incidents occurred between 2000 and 2002.
He allegedly “pressed his body against [her] breasts,” “grabbed [her] on the buttocks” and made “sexually inappropriate comments and advances.” The suit added, “Kevin Liles proceeded to physically force himself on top of [Jane Doe], where he began to sexually assault and ultimately rape her despite her continued protests.”
According to Rolling Stone, Liles called the allegations “patently false.” A letter was filed to a federal judge on April 8th, claiming she “offers zero factual bases for her salacious allegations” with only “threadbare assertions.”
Liles’ lawyer, Krystal C. Durham, wrote in the letter, “Plaintiff offers no detail whatsoever regarding the nature of the purported assault she suffered. She alleges that at unspecified times, and in unspecified locations, during a two-year window – again, over twenty years ago – Mr Liles sexually harassed and assault her.
“She fails, however, to explain when these purported acts occurred, where in UMG’s offices they occurred, identify a single person she reported this information to, or who was present.”
Durham says the complaint doesn’t have enough information to hold up in court because the woman didn’t provide a date, location or context for her “serious” allegation that Liles forced himself on her.
“She, again, provides no detail regarding the purported event and submits only the bare conclusion that Mr Liles’s alleged conduct amounted to rape and sexual assault,” he said, claiming she “neither reported to nor worked for” Liles.
Liles denied the “outrageous” allegations after the lawsuit was filed, claiming he and his attorneys would fully clear his name. He also threatened to file a defamation lawsuit.