Nelly Plans to Sue Sexual Assault Accuser

The charges of sexual assault levelled against Nelly were dropped this week, but seems that’s not enough for the singer. In a statement to PEOPLE, Nelly’s lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, explained their decision to open a lawsuit against the anonymous accuser.

“The formal close of the investigation into the false allegations made against Nelly is of course welcome — however expected,” Rosenblum said. “We were confident that what our investigation revealed from the outset of this allegation would ultimately be clear and Nelly would be vindicated.”

“Credible evidence did show this accuser to be deceptive,” Rosenblum went on to explain the need to pursue legal action against the accuser.

“Nelly recognizes the need for women who are victims of sexual assault of any kind to be heard and our existing systems changed. Nelly supports various women’s advocacy groups that deal with sexual assault and violence against women and is dedicated to raising awareness and furthering the conversation to bring about necessary changes. However, this type of reckless false allegation cannot be tolerated as it is an affront to the real survivors of sexual assault,” Rosenblum added.

On a more personal level, Rosenblum believes these allegations had a quantifiable effect on Nelly’s reputation and income as an entertainer.

“Nelly has suffered very real damage to his reputation,” his statement said. “He has incurred economic loss and painfully has watched his family suffer. As a result Nelly is planning to proceed with litigation as the first step in restoring his reputation.”

The accusations against Nelly surfaced in October. An anonymous woman, who was identified as 21 years old and a full-time student, said that Nelly had assaulted her on his tour bus. On Wednesday, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said they would be dropping the charges, citing lack of cooperation from the victim as the reason.

The victim’s lawyer, Karen Koehler, has said that the public backlash from the case was too much for the young girl. She says they gave up the case because they didn’t believe they could win, not because they didn’t believe they were right.

In October, The Blast published a letter from Koehler, saying her client “never wanted notoriety” for her allegations. She went on to say that her client couldn’t “handle” the “horrible things” that were said about her since she made her accusations public.