Bassnectar, whose real name is Lorin Ashton, is currently facing a civil lawsuit as two women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault and grooming when they were underage. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Rachel Ramsbottom and Alexis Bowling, the two alleging Bassnectar had used “his power and influence to groom and ultimately sexually victimize underage girls.”
Defendants in the lawsuit list Ashton, Amorphous Music, Inc, Bassnectar Tourin, Inc, Redlight Management, Inc, C3 Presents and Interactive Giving Fund.
The lawsuit alleges of Bassnectar, “In many ways he was held out by himself and others to his followers – both adults and children – as God-like. Yet, Bassnectar’s purported noble actions and reputation of being in service to some greater good were nothing more than a veil to mask his sinister desires and actions and a means to use his power and influence to groom and ultimately sexually victimize underaged girls.”
Allegations against Bassnectar include sex trafficking, having a sexual relationship with a minor and soliciting explicit photos of a minor. Bassnectar’s lawyer, Mitchell Schuster, made a statement about the lawsuit, saying “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.”
Other allegations made in the lawsuit include that “After performances, Bassnectar would invite these underage girls to his hotel room and demand that the girls shower so that they were ‘clean.’ He would then have sex with them, requiring the sex to be unprotected, without a condom, and would provide large sums of cash and other items of value in exchange.”
Ashton stepped back from his career as Bassnectar last July, as the allegations first began to surface. He announced that he was retiring the Bassnectar moniker, and would be handing the Be Interactive nonprofit to “a diverse team” without his involvement.
The lawsuit goes on to allege, “Bassnectar, using the Bassnectar Companies’ resources, engaged in a pattern and practice of recruiting, luring, enticing, obtaining, and grooming underaged girls, and causing them through force, fraud or coercion, or knowing that the victim had not yet attained the age of eighteen years, to engage in commercial sex acts through, among other means, providing cash payments and other commercially lucrative benefits such as transportation and concert/event tickets.”
According to the lawsuit, Ashton allegedly first direct-messaged Ramsbottom on social media when she was underage in September 2012, with Ashton allegedly inviting her into his hotel room in Memphis in May 2013, and allegedly paying her $1,000 following the encounter. The lawsuit alleges, “During this time, Bassnectar was aware that Rachel was a minor and in high school. Bassnectar would read Rachel’s school assignments and even asked her to write one for him.”
Bowling alleges that she had been paid $1,600 after having sex with Ashton, the lawsuit also alleging that he requested she take sexually explicit photos. Much of the allegations in the lawsuit include previously anonymous allegations that had been made against Bassnectar last year.
Photo credit: Mehreen Rizvi
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