A judge rejected Russell Simmons’Ā latest attempt to dismiss a rape lawsuit filed by a former Def Jam executive, ruling Tuesday that his move to Indonesia doesnāt protect him from facing his accuser in court.
The 35-year-old music mogul had successfully used his overseas residency to block a federal case last year, but Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Adam Silvera said that trick wonāt work when the alleged assault happened inside New York borders. Jane Doe, an anonymous plaintiff who worked in Def Jamās video department, claims Simmons raped her in his Manhattan apartment during the 1990s.
After federal court tossed her case because she couldnāt establish jurisdiction over someone living abroad, she refiled in state court. Silvera found that since the alleged crime occurred in New York, the state has every right to hear the case regardless of where Simmons currently lives or what his citizenship status is. Simmons fought on three separate fronts to kill the lawsuit. His legal team argued the case was filed too late, that Doe signed a release agreement back in 1997 waiving her right to sue, and that New York had no authority over a āstatelessā resident living overseas.