John Casablancas, founder of leading model agency Elite and the father of Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, has been named in a sex abuse lawsuit by a model who claims he made her pregnant at the age of 15, and then arranged an abortion. Lawyers for Casablancas claim all the allegations, which are meant to have happened fifteen years ago, are untrue and said that they were confident the case would be dismissed.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in the LA Superior Court, alleges that Casablancas began sexually abusing the girl in 1988 when she was a finalist in Elite's prestigious ‘Look of the Year’ competition for fresh new faces. The former model said she traveled with Casablancas to New York later that year when it was discovered she was pregnant by him. She alleges she was driven to a doctor's office and an abortion was arranged for her at the behest of Casablancas.