The Los Angeles Police Department has opened an investigation into the sexual assault allegations made against influential rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris. The claims were brought to the authorities by attorney Tyrone A. Blackburn, who says he represents 11 alleged victims in both Georgia and California.
Blackburn announced to The New York Times in March that the allegations include “events of sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, terroristic threats and false imprisonment.” He told the authorities in both states that the alleged crimes date back more than 15 years and also involved “others in their circle,” according to ABC7.
According to The Daily Beast, there was also a police report filed in Nevada by another alleged victim represented by Blackburn. The site claims that the Nevadan woman and a Californian woman both alleged that they had been drugged by the Harrises during their encounters with them.
The police report filed by the Nevadan, Rachelle Jenks, claims, “Jenks states that she believes the initial shot of Patron was spiked and because she was drugged and under the influence, she was not able to properly consent to the events that transpired.” More details of both women’s police claims can be read here, as reported by The Daily Beast.
At the time that Blackburn brought the allegations to authorities, T.I. and Tiny’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, responded. “We are confident that if these claims are thoroughly and fairly investigated, no charges will be forthcoming,” Sadow stated. “These allegations are nothing more than the continuation of a sordid shakedown campaign that began on social media. The Harrises implore everyone not to be taken in by these obvious attempts to manipulate the press and misuse the justice system.”
When the allegations had first come to light in January, the couple made an initial statement denying them. “Mr. and Mrs. Harris want to be on record and more importantly want the public to know they emphatically deny in the strongest way possible the egregiously appalling allegations being made against them by Sabrina Peterson,” They stated. “The Harrises have had difficulty with this woman for well over a decade. They are taking this matter very seriously, and if these allegations don’t end, they will take appropriate legal action.”
The investigation is the second time that T.I. has run into the law over the past year. In September 2020, he was charged for allegedly promoting fraudulent cryptocurrency, which was settled soon after.
T.I. is the rapper who coined the term “trap music” on his 2003 album Trap Muzik. The album is regarded as a historically-important classic and marked him as a pioneer of one of the most popular genres in the world right now. He has consistently kept releasing music since then, including other albums like King (2006) and Paper Trail (2008), which were similarly popular, although they didn’t follow the direction that trap music went at that time. His wife, Tiny, is a member of the Atlanta R&B group Xscape, or Xscap3, as they were called on their 2018 comeback record Here For It.
UPDATE 12:07 p.m.
In an update published by CNN, the couple claims that they haven’t been contacted by the LAPD at this time. Additionally, they point out that the LAPD has only confirmed that the investigation will be looking into the allegations made against T.I., and has not confirmed an investigation into Tiny’s part in the allegations.
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