Artist News Legal

Nelly’s accuser asks for police investigation to end, saying “system will fail me”

By | Published on Monday 16 October 2017

Nelly

The women who accused Nelly of sexual assault after a show in Auburn, Washington earlier this month has requested that police stop their investigation into the alleged crime, because “she believes the system is going to fail her”.

Karen Koehler, the lawyer who had been repping the alleged victim, posted an open letter to her website on Friday criticising the way police handle rape allegations. She wrote: “We do not live in a society where a 21 year old college student can feel safe enough to pursue criminal charges against a celebrity for an alleged rape”.

After outlining the process her client must go through after reporting the alleged assault to police, Koehler writes: “Every step of the way since the time she called 911, she wishes she had not. Not because what happened didn’t occur exactly the way she described it. Not because she did not want the police to charge the celebrity with alleged rape. She wishes she had not called 911 because she believes the system is going to fail her”.

To that end, Koehler adds: “Today she is telling the Auburn Police Department and the King County Prosecutor’s Office to put a halt to the criminal investigation of Cornell Haynes Jr (aka Nelly). She will not testify in a criminal proceeding against him”.

Nelly and his representatives have strongly denied the allegations of sexual assault from the off, with his lawyer Scott Rosenblum telling reporters, as news of his client’s arrest broke: “Our initial investigation clearly establishes this allegation is devoid of credibility and is motivated by greed and vindictiveness”.

Responding to the news that his client’s accuser had now requested that police stop their investigations, Rosenblum said this weekend: “We have received word via her lawyer’s website that Nelly’s accuser is no longer pursuing her false allegation. This is welcome news, even though I was 100% sure Nelly would be vindicated”.

He went on: “Her reckless accusation, once investigated thoroughly, was exposed for what it was – a fabrication. A fabrication that has caused Nelly and his family to suffer emotionally and financially. I am suggesting that Nelly seeks a public apology. I am further suggesting that Nelly considers whatever legal options are available to him. Nelly thanks his fans for their unwavering loyalty”.

Koehler, who had already been critical of the way Nelly and Rosenblum had responded to her client’s allegations, concludes her open letter thus: “[My client] never wanted notoriety. She never wanted a dime from that man. She wants to go back to school and to graduate. And this she cannot do if she remains hidden in her room, crying her heart out”.

Alluding to recent events in Hollywood, she then finishes by stating: “One day, maybe our world will change and 30 women will not be needed to (eventually) speak out against a celebrity who has hurt them in order to be believed. But that day has not yet come”.



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