WATCH THE VIDEO HERE Veteran music executive Kevin Liles has been sued by a woman who claims that he sexually assaulted her at Def Jam in the early 2000s. Jane Doe filed the lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court under the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law. She also named Universal Music Group, Def Jam and Liles as defendants. Jane Doe says Liles was President of Def Jam and EVP of Island Def Jam when she began working as the executive assistant to the general manager in 1999. She alleges that Liles started to make “derogatory and degrading comments based on her gender regarding her body and appearance” and that the executive made repeated advances towards her between 2000 and 2002, with the executive allegedly pressing his body up against her breasts and grabbing her buttocks. She says she continued to reject his advances until he eventually r*ped her in 2002. Doe alleged that UMG and Def Jam “not only knew or should have known” of his “propensity to commit the aforementioned crimes of violence” but also enabled how he engaged with employees. “We commend our client for her determination to seek justice for the sexual abuse she endured, as well as the sheer bravery it took to come forward against a well-known, celebrity figure,” Doe’s attorney Lucas B. Franken said in a statement. “In our lengthy experience defending sexual abuse victims, we have witnessed a common thread and that is that they are often not alone in their abuse. Based on the violent and egregious conduct, we expect that others were also abused, and we hope that they can also come forward to share their experiences and pursue justice.”
Kevin Liles & Def Jam Sued for S*xual Assault
