Nelly won’t be charged in his Seattle rape case, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Haynes Jr., was accused of sexually assaulting a woman on his tour bus on Saturday, Oct. 7.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said in a statement Thursday it won’t pursue the case after the alleged victim decided not to cooperate with the prosecution within a few days of making the claims.
“This office is unable to proceed or fully assess the merits of the case,” according a statement released by the office.
The woman requested the Auburn, Wash. Police Department and King County District Attorney end the investigation.
The 21-year-old college student decided to end the investigation because she doesn’t “feel safe enough to pursue criminal charges against a celebrity for an alleged rape,” according to her attorney Karen Koehler.
Koehler told the Auburn PD and King County D.A. her client regrets calling 911 because she believes the system is going to fail her due to Nelly’s celebrity.
The Seattle woman, who remains unnamed, told police Nelly forced her to have sex without a condom, TMZ reports.
The victim met Nelly at a club in Washington, where she and her friends were invited for drinks at his table. She got “tipsy” with Nelly and was invited to an after-party and left the venue with rapper’s team.
The woman, however, alleges she was instead taken to Nelly’s tour bus. She was in Nelly’s room with him when he tried to have sex with her, but declined his advances. She said Nelly told her to “shut up,” and proceeded to have sex with her without protection.
After they were done, she says Nelly offered her money, but she declined. A woman then approached her and led her off the bus, and threw $100 at her.
Nelly took to Twitter to issue a statement to the alleged crime.
Nelly told fans he was “beyond shocked” and “completely innocent” in regard to the rape allegations.
“I am confident that once the facts are looked at, it will be very clear that I am the victim of a false allegation,” he wrote.
He continued, “I do want to apologize to my loved ones for the embarrassment and for putting myself in a situation where I could be victimized by this false and defaming allegation.”
Nelly then thanked his fans “for their unwavering support,” writing, “They know me. I assure you I will be vindicated. And I assure you, I will pursue every legal option to address this defaming claim. Thank you.”
Nelly made a point to say he was not officially charged, writing, “To be absolutely clear. I have not been charged with a crime therefore no bail was required. I was released, pending further investigation.”
Nelly’s lawyer Scott Rosenblum issued a statement to the TMZ regarding the sexual assault allegations.
“Nelly is the victim of a completely fabricated allegation. Our initial investigation, clearly establishes the allegation is devoid of credibility and is motivated by greed and vindictiveness,” he said. “I am confident, once the scurrilous accusation is thoroughly investigated, there will be no charges. Nelly is prepared to pursue all legal avenues to redress any damage caused by this clearly false allegation.”
