Motown legend Smokey Robinson is beneath felony investigation, legislation enforcement in Los Angeles stated Thursday, simply days after he was sued by 4 former housekeepers who allege the soul singer repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted them.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau is actively investigating criminal allegations involving William Robinson AKA ‘Smokey Robinson,'” stated an announcement despatched to AFP.
“The investigation is in the early stages, and we have no further comment,” it added.
The growth comes after a multimillion dollar lawsuit was filed in a Los Angeles court docket claiming the 85-year-old compelled himself on feminine staff a number of instances over a variety of years, typically when his spouse was not at house.
The sheriff’s division wouldn’t verify the substance of their investigation, however attorneys for the ladies within the swimsuit advised AFP their purchasers have been cooperating with the probe.
“We are pleased to learn that the LA County Sheriff’s Dept has opened a criminal investigation into our clients’ claims of sexual assault against Smokey Robinson,” John Harris and Herbert Hayden advised AFP in a joint assertion.
“Our clients intend to fully cooperate with LASD’s ongoing investigation in the pursuit of seeking justice for themselves and others that may have been similarly assaulted by him.”
In the swimsuit filed this month, one plaintiff alleges the “Tracks of My Tears” singer would summon her to his bed room in his Los Angeles space house, and greet her carrying solely his underwear.
He would then sexually assault her, regardless of her protestations, with the swimsuit claiming there have been seven such assaults between March 2023 and when she felt compelled to resign in February 2024.
Another former housekeeper alleges Robinson assaulted her greater than 20 instances over a four-year interval, whereas a 3rd says within the swimsuit that she was “sexually harassed, sexually assaulted and raped” all through her 12-year employment till 2024.
The fourth lady says the singer started assaulting her in 2007 when she traveled with him to his Las Vegas house.
None of the ladies are named within the swimsuit, which is widespread in circumstances involving claims of sexual assault.
The swimsuit, which is searching for a minimum of $50 million in damages, says not one of the girls reported the assaults on the time as a result of they have been intimidated by Robinson’s movie star, and feared assaults on their character.
Robinson was one of many founding members of The Miracles, a Detroit-based outfit that got here collectively within the Fifties.
The group had dozens of chart hits, together with the smash “The Tears of a Clown” in 1967.
© 2025 AFP