The Latest: NYPD investigating Simmons rape allegations
Posted December 14, 2017 8:44 pm.
Last Updated December 14, 2017 9:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Latest on sexual misconduct allegations against music mogul Russell Simmons (all times local):
8:45 p.m.
The New York Police Department has launched an investigation into allegations made by three women who say that music mogul Russell Simmons raped them.
Deputy Chief Timothy Trainor said Thursday that detectives are in the process of reviewing the accusations and are reaching out to the alleged victims.
Simmons wrote on Instagram earlier in the day that he would “begin to properly defend” himself.
The investigation follows a New York Times story published Wednesday in which the women detailed the rape allegations.
Simmons denies any wrongdoing, and wrote on Instagram that he “will prove without a doubt” that he is innocent. He posted his words under a photo that read #NotMe.
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2:45 p.m.
Music mogul Russell Simmons says on Instagram that he will “begin to properly defend” himself a day after a New York Times story published claims by three women that he raped them.
The allegations in the Times’ Wednesday report stem from the 1980s and 1990s. Simmons denies the allegations.
Simmons wrote Thursday that he “will prove without any doubt that I am innocent of all rape charges.” Simmons posted his words under a photo that read #NotMe. He writes that “my intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in anyway, but instead hold my accusers accountable. …It’s just a statement about my innocence.”
Last month, HBO said it would edit out any link to Simmons in its “All Def Comedy” show after a sexual misconduct allegation by a screenwriter.
