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Charlamagne Tha God is considering his legal options after his rape accuser from nearly two decades ago decided to reopen the case.
“The Breakfast Club” host was 22-years-old when he threw a party where his now 34-year-old accuser, who was a minor at the time, claims she was raped. A South Carolina filing from Jessica Reid accused Charlamagne of “willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously [engaging] in penile/vaginal intercourse with a 15-year-old female child” in 2001 and the initial investigation showed the radio host did cooperate in the case, submitting to blood samples and DNA testing. However, the Charla ultimately had his charges lessened.
Now that Reid wants to reopen the case to get closure, Charlamagne feels it’s all just an effort to damage his reputation, according to TMZ. He’s partnered with attorneys Marty Singer and Michael Weinstein to protect his name.
“More than seventeen years ago, Charlamagne was accused of a sexual assault. He never had sexual relations or any physical contact with the accuser and even provided DNA to prove it,” the attorney said in a statement. “At the time of these claims, Charlamagne cooperated fully with authorities, and after the investigation, this charge against him was dropped.
“Charlamagne has spoken about this many times over the years in public, including in his book,” it continued. “While Charlamagne has empathy for all sexual assault victims, he cannot take responsibility for a crime he did not commit.”
One of those instances where the radio/TV personality, whose real name is Lenard McKelvey, spoke on it was in a 2013 interview with DJ Akademiks.
In that sitdown, Charlamagne said he threw the party but left early. When he spoke to friends the next day, they told him Reid claimed she was raped. Falsely believing his cousins were at the local jail, Charlamagne went down to the police station and took full responsibility for the situation. He was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor but it was later reduced to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to three years probation.
