BY: Walker
Published 2 years ago
Country star Jimmie Allen has been sued for sexual assault for the second time in less than a month, with his latest accuser claiming he filmed their sexual encounter without her consent.
via: Variety
This is the second woman to come forward publicly with sexual assault allegations against the Grammy-nominated country singer. The new lawsuit, filed Friday in Tennessee federal court, comes less than one month after Allen was accused of rape and repeated sexual abuse by a woman who worked on his former management team. Those accusations, first reported by Variety, resulted in Allen being dropped by his publicist and suspended by his label, agency and management.
In the new lawsuit, obtained by Variety, the woman — who is identified as “Jane Doe 2” – alleges that she was randomly approached by Allen on a plane last year, and after that first meeting, the country singer pursued her and engaged in daily communication over the phone. After two months of constant, long-distance conversation, they agreed to meet in Las Vegas where, according to the lawsuit, she was sexually assaulted.
During this alleged assault in Las Vegas, the suit states that Jane Doe noticed Allen’s phone hidden in the hotel room closet that had been recording their sexual interaction without her awareness. She took the phone, left the hotel room and flew home by herself where she turned the phone into the authorities and filed a police report.
Jane Doe’s attorney, Elizabeth Fegan of the Chicago-based firm FeganScott, tells Variety that detectives have contacted her client, and that she is waiting for the police department to fulfill her records request regarding the investigation.
Investigation aside, Jane Doe is suing Allen for battery, assault, invasion of privacy and emotional distress.
“Allen sexually assaulted Jane Doe 2 in his hotel room and then passed out,” the lawsuit reads. “Extremely upset by the assault, Jane Doe 2 was leaving the hotel room when she discovered that Allen had surreptitiously and, without her consent, placed his cell phone in the closet facing the bed and had been videotaping the entire event.”
Allen’s attorney did not immediately respond to Variety for comment.
Last month, Allen denied wrongdoing in response to the first sexual assault lawsuit against him, acknowledging a sexual relationship, but claiming it was consensual. He called those allegations “deeply troubling and hurtful,” stating, in part, “The simple fact is, her accusations are not only false, but also extremely damaging. I’ve worked incredibly hard to build my career, and I intend to mount a vigorous defense to her claims and take all other legal action necessary to protect my reputation.”
In this new lawsuit, Jane Doe is suing both Allen and his bodyguard, as well as the company that was employing the bodyguard, at the time. In the suit, she alleges that she first met Allen on a flight in May 2022 when he randomly approached her on the plane. She claims she did not know who Allen was and was unaware that he was a public figure. After the flight, the suit says Allen’s bodyguard followed her into the airport and asked for her phone number for the singer. Over the next two months, the suit says, Jane Doe and Allen spoke several times per day via text and FaceTime with Allen leading her to believe that he was separated from his wife.
In April 2023, Allen and his wife announced their separation; they did not cite any reason for the split, but said they are expecting their third child together. (After the first sexual assault lawsuit against Allen from his former female manager, the singer posted a statement on social media apologizing to his wife “for humiliating her,” with what he categorized as “my affair,” and to his children “for being a poor example of a man and a father.”)
“Over time, Allen expressed his love for her and told her he could see a future together,” the new lawsuit from Jane Doe 2 states. “He told her he wanted to have children together and that he could see she would make a good stepmother for his children…Plaintiff inquired on several occasions about Allen’s wife, but Allen assured her that he and his wife were separated.”
After months of long-distance talking, Jane Doe agreed to meet Allen in Las Vegas, but with the understanding that Allen would be booking her a separate hotel room, according to the suit. When she arrived, Allen arranged for a car to pick her up, which brought her to accompany him during his business appearances where he introduced her as his “girlfriend,” the suit says. Once they arrived at Allen’s hotel, Jane Doe felt “comfortable and safe” because she was told arrangements were being made for her own separate room and that Allen’s bodyguard would be staying in the room next door, per the suit.
Jane Doe “willingly joined Allen in the bedroom” at the hotel, the suit says, “However, at no time did Allen disclose that he intended to or was video recordingtheir sexual encounter, nor did he ask Plaintiff if she consented to him video recording their sexual encounter.”
Jane Doe consented to having sex with Allen, but set ground rules, relating to her not being on birth control, the lawsuit explains. “He told her he would respect her request,” the suit states, “Yet, as their encounter progressed, Allen penetrated Plaintiff during sex with his penis and without a condom. Allen told Plaintiff he wanted to get her pregnant. Plaintiff said no….He refused.”
The lawsuit claims that Jane Doe repeatedly asked Allen to stop and verbally revoked consent during their sexual interaction, but he still continued. After, the suit says Allen immediately passed out and Jane Doe was not able to wake him up.
“Any partner or participant in sexual activity can revoke their consent at any time,” Fegan says to Variety. (Fegan specializes in representing alleged victims of sexual abuse, and has previously represented women who have accused Harvey Weinstein and female students abused in the USC gynecology scandal.) She adds, “Even if two people consent at the outset and begin to engage in sexual activity, either one of them can say, ‘No more,’ they can say, ‘Stop,’ and they can revoke consent. Thereafter, if the other person doesn’t stop, it is sexual assault.”
After the alleged assault, Jane Doe was desperate to leave quickly, in an effort to get away from Allen while he was sleeping. As she was leaving, she noticed the phone in the closet, the suit says, and she “panicked when she discovered that Allen had recorded her undressing and had recorded their sexual encounter and his assault on her… Crying, shaking, and in a panic, Plaintiff took the phone with her.”
According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe called one of her friends sobbing and informed her of the alleged assault. That friend helped find a new hotel and disclosed the alleged assault to the hotel when booking a room for Jane Doe. “The hotel personnel made Plaintiff feel safe, reassured her that her abuser would not be able to physically find her, and provided her with a room,” the lawsuit states. Once she flew home from Vegas, she turned Allen’s phone into her local police department, which reported the incident to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police where the alleged assault took place.
Fegan also represents the first Jane Doe who accused and sued Allen last month. The attorney tells Variety that after her first client’s lawsuit was filed, she was contacted by the friend that Jane Doe 2 had called the night of the alleged assault in Las Vegas. The friend said she had seen the news that Allen was sued for rape. Eventually, Jane Doe 2 decided to come forward.
Jane Doe 2 declined to be interviewed by Variety, but her attorney says it is significant that more than one woman has accused Allen of assault.
“A predator can only have two defenses: one is consent, and one is that it didn’t happen,” Fegan says. “The more women that come forward, the more they can’t claim it didn’t happen, and the less likely it is that it’s consensual. It shows a pattern of deceit, manipulation and ultimately, a pattern of force.” The attorney also notes that Allen is alleged in both lawsuits from separate women to have videotaped sexual encounters with both of her clients.
Fegan says she has been approached by more accusers of Allen, telling Variety, “We have spoken to more women, and I expect that there will be more lawsuits.”