JAMES DENIES RAPE CLAIM.Byline: Ryan Oliver Staff Writer Funk singer Rick James Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr) (February 1 1948 – August 6 2004) was one of the most popular artists on the Motown label during the late 1970s and early 1980s. went on the offensive Friday, calling a 26-year- old woman accusing him of rape at his Woodland Hills home a liar motived by greed. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. police raided James' home earlier this week after the woman told police she had been sexually assaulted by the Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards) are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the record industry. The current President of the Academy is Neil Portnow. winner on Sunday. ``Once the smoke has cleared the air, everyone will see these are totally false allegations,'' James told reporters at a Sawtelle news conference he held with his attorney, Steffeny Holtz. James has not been arrested, and Los Angeles police said their investigation of the allegations is ongoing. Reached by phone Friday, the woman reporting the allegations said she had been advised by police not to discuss specifics of the case and deferred comment to her attorney. ``He's kind of digging a hole for himself,'' she said of James. ``I think it's better to just let police investigate rather than coming out and talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to the media.'' ``The police told me not to speak publicly, but he can say whatever he wants,'' she said, expressing frustration at the televised news conference. The Daily News has a policy of not releasing the names of sexual assault victims, so it is not using the accuser's name. Lt. Jesse Alvarado of the Robbery-Homicide Division said evidence was seized from James' home during the search and that several DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. samples must be tested. The tests, he said, will take at least a month. The alleged victim's attorney, Andrew Flier, is the former Los Angeles County prosecutor who convicted James of assault on two women in 1993. ``We will be putting our version of events out very shortly,'' he said. James, 54, served two years in prison for the assault and drug convictions. The first assault occurred in 1991 when he restrained and burned a woman with a crack pipe in a West Hollywood West Hollywood A community of southern California northeast of Beverly Hills. It is mainly residential. Population: 36,600. hotel room. The second attack was at his home in 1992 where, prosecutors said, James bound a woman and forced her to have sex with his girlfriend as he watched. James, who is best known for his 1981 hit ``Super Freak,'' called the latest allegations ``insane INSANE. One deprived of the use of reason, after he has arrived at the age when he ought to have it, either by a natural defect or by accident. Domat, Lois Civ. Lib. prel. tit. 2, s. 1, n. 11. .'' ``I just feel sometimes that I'm in a fish bowl,'' he said. ``Sometimes the wrong people enter into your space, and they're money-hungry, and they're greedy greed·y adj. greed·i·er, greed·i·est 1. Excessively desirous of acquiring or possessing, especially wishing to possess more than what one needs or deserves. 2. .'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Funk singer Rick James, left, and attorney Steffeny Holtz appear at a news conference in which James denied a woman's allegations that he raped her last weekend at his home. Lucien Read/Associated Press |
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