Nelly Under Criminal Investigation for Sexual Assault

Police in England are investigating Nelly for sexual assault, TMZ reports.

The incident allegedly occurred December 5 after the rapper's performance in Essex at Cliffs Pavilion, where a woman says Nelly invited her to his dressing room and began touching himself in front of her, as well as forcing his penis into her mouth. The woman says she was then able to escape and fled the room.

She said she didn't immediately go to the police because she felt she wouldn't be believed. Essex police have reportedly opened an investigation into her claims.

Nelly's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, told TMZ, "These allegations arose after Ms. Green amended her suit for money to include a reference to these claims. The fact that the police are investigating these claims is not new information and Nelly welcomes a thorough investigation. Nelly is confident that once investigated, these claims will be determined to be disingenuous."

He adds, "Nelly was accompanied by his girlfriend during this tour and she was at his side throughout. It is important that police investigate every allegation of this nature."

The allegation being investigated by police arose during testimony in a lawsuit leveled against Nelly by a woman named Monique Greene, who first accused Nelly of rape in October. While Greene, 21, initially dropped her lawsuit against Nelly, 43, she filed a new one against him for both sexual assault and defamation after Nelly threatened to countersue.

Greene's amended civil lawsuit, obtained by reporters from NPR, was filed in the Superior Court of King County, Washington on Jan. 22. It contains no criminal charges, but asks the judge to prevent Nelly — whose real name is Cornell Haynes Jr. — from assaulting more women in the future. In addition, Greene seeks damages for her pain and trauma, as well as damage to her reputation.

The new documents contain testimony from two more alleged victims of Nelly, and one of the accusations incited the police investigation above. The alleged assaults against both anonymous women both took place in the U.K., one before and one after the incident with Greene on Oct. 6.

Greene and her lawyer argue that the similarities in the stories told by the three victims demonstrates a pattern of assault. Greene believes that the assaults are premeditated and follow a pattern that has worked for the rapper in the past, consisting of isolating women, exposing himself, and intimidating them into sexual acts.

Warning: there are graphic descriptions of sexual assault below.

One of the women, identified in the court documents as "Jane Doe no. 1," is a U.S. military service member stationed in the U.K. She was out with friends at one of Nelly's shows in June of 2016 when the rapper invited them to a "VIP area" backstage. She says that Nelly abruptly grabbed her leg and shoved his hand up her dress without her consent. Jane Doe no. 1 says that she firmly removed Nelly's hand and got up to leave, but the rapper argued and tried to force her to stay. Ultimately she left before the situation could go any further.

The attack described by "Jane Doe no. 2," which is also the aforementioned attack police are now investigating, is much more graphic. She claims that she and a group of friends saw Nelly perform in Essex in December. She was invited to his dressing room, but her friends were prevented from accompanying her by security guards. She says that once they were alone, Nelly dropped his pants and began touching himself while trying to remove her clothes and kiss her without consent. She says that she tried continually to "evade and refuse him," but he overpowered her, grabbing her hand and putting it on his penis.

Jane Doe no. 2 says that when she refused him again, Nelly made a fist. She asked if he was going to hit her and the rapper allegedly responded "No, I'm just frustrated, I'm not used to not getting my way, just do it." She says that he forced her down and put his penis into her mouth. At that point she was finally able to get out of his reach and flee the room. She notes that she "considered going to the police but felt that she wouldn't be believed."

Nelly has filed his own countersuit, alleging that Greene's story was fabricated to damage his reputation.