Early last month, Bassnectar was sued by two women citing allegations of abuse, human trafficking, and child pornography. The lawsuit referenced years of alleged grooming and inappropriate acts by Bassnectar, real name Lorin Ashton; he “left” the music industry after these allegations reached a peak in July last year.
“This lawsuit is about seeking justice not just against Bassnectar but against the corporations that cooperate in and help facilitate the abuses he is alleged to have committed,” attorney Brian Kent, of Laffey, Bucci & Kent, LLP in Philadelphia, said of the lawsuit.
Bassnectar’s lawyer Mitchell Schuster said in response to the suit, “These outrageous claims — which were clearly designed for the media, rather than for the courts — are completely without merit, and we eagerly look forward to proving so.”
Now, the lawsuit has added two additional accusers, Jenna Houston and Jane Doe #1, who give accounts similar to the original two plaintiffs.
Houston says Ashton first reached out to her over Twitter DMs when she was 16. When they met for the first time in April 2012 at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Philadelphia, PA, “[a]lmost as soon as she walked into the room, Bassnectar started having sex with Jenna. Bassnectar did not use a condom. Bassnectar was thirty-four years old… Bassnectar provided Jenna with cash after they had sex.”
Ashton told Houston he wanted to end things with her as soon as she graduated high school and went off to college.
Additionally, reports Rolling Stone, “When the allegations against Bassnectar first arose on social media, Ashton reached out to Houston make sure she was ‘staying quiet.’”
In Jane Doe #1’s account, “in addition to allegations of sexual abuse and human trafficking, the lawsuit accuses Ashton of manipulating Doe into sending ‘sexually explicit photos’ while she was still underage,” writes Rolling Stone. He even, allegedly, went so far as crafting a letter to Doe’s therapist claiming she felt “trapped by her parents” as they became concerned for her well-being.
“Fabricated claims like these are an appalling disservice to actual victims, whom Lorin and the entire Bassnectar team unwaveringly support,” Ashton’s attorneys said. “We have every confidence that once these claims are actually tested under oath in a courtroom – rather than through the court of public opinion – Lorin will be fully exonerated … We will pursue every appropriate remedy to hold these opportunists accountable for the damage they have caused to Lorin’s life and reputation.”
via Rolling Stone | Photo via aLIVE Coverage
