Bassnectar (Lorin Ashton) has responded to a lawsuit filed on April 5 accusing him of sex trafficking, manufacturing/possession of child pornography, and other sexually abusive behaviors. In a statement released through his legal team, Ashton denied the various allegations made against him, stating,
“These outrageous claims—which were clearly designed for the media, rather than for the courts—are completely without merit, and we eagerly look forward to proving so.”
According to the lawsuit, Ashton met the plaintiffs, identified as Rachel Ramsbottom and Alexis Bowling, on social media when they were minors:
“After performances, Bassnectar would invite these underage girls to his hotel room and demand that the girls shower so that they were ‘clean,’” and that “He would then have sex with them, requiring the sex to be unprotected, without a condom, and would provide large sums of cash and other items of value in exchange.”
This lawsuit comes just nine months after Bassnectar announced that he would be “stepping back” from the music industry following a slew of allegations uncovered by the @evidenceagainstBassnectar Instagram page. Although numerous allegations were made on that page anonymously, the plaintiff’s lawyer Brian Kent explained the clients’ decision to use their full names. Kent stated,
“By having the strength and courage to have their names be public, they hope other individuals who’ve had similar experiences will have the strength and courage to follow them. Secondly, they want to hold people accountable, and they feel that having their identities out there will help to do so.”
Via: Billboard
Featured image: Tim Mosenfelder
