Entertainer dismisses accuser’s story as ‘staged performance’
KINGSTON, Jamaica –
Reggae singer Richie Stephens has categorically denied rape allegations levied against him by a 27 year-old female entertainer and ex-soldier from Singapore.
In a video posted on YouTube on Saturday, the ‘Weakness for Sweetness’ singer poured cold water over the allegations.
“Ms. Elaine Lim made some allegations, some of what she said is true but I am here to tell you what is true. One, she was on tour with me in 2019 in Australia, two, she made a formal report to the police against me, and three, she did a rape kit. What she did not tell you, a thorough investigation was done by the Australian police, I was detained, they took a statement from me, they took a statement from her and other people and there were cameras in the vicinity,” he said.
“While I was detained, I called my attorney Christopher Townsend who advised me what to do, and at the end of the investigation, they found her allegations to be simply baseless. You know what is true, I am really sorry for her, to know that she would go that far to try and get some recognition. We’re living in a time where they believe that likes is far more important than the truth and we’re here to bring the truth out,” he said.
Two days ago, Lim, who reportedly once served in the Singapore Armed Forces, appeared on YouTube in a video dubbed ‘TW: The Truth about Richie Stephens in Australia 2019’, and claimed that she was the victim at the of that alleged two-year-old sexual assault by Stephens.
In a 25 minute video, she detailed a harrowing experience in which she was allegedly overpowered and assaulted by the popular singer despite her repeated “nos”.
“Not all that glitters is gold, Not all that shines is the light, you can say it wasn’t told, but when the truth is out people will know. Disclaimer: I want to clarify that dressing is a non-issue on such cases. In fact, the responsibility is never on the survivor, but heavily dependent on the perp’s intention and self control. This is an act of control and blatant disregard of a person. No, is a no. There’s nothing else to it,” Lim said.
She directed queries from the media to her email address, generallingofficial@gmail.com, and presented “proof of the police report that was lodged right after the assault”.
Stephens has been forced to go public to strongly deny her claims.
“She claimed I came back to Jamaica and ran to the media and give them fabricated stories, I have not done one interview, I haven’t posted a video. The only thing is that my attorney Christopher Townsend wrote a letter which I posted to my IG,” Stephens said.
Stephens is a decorated musician, having been awarded the Song of the Year and Digital Sales of the Year at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards for his contribution to Rihanna’s smash hit ‘Work’, which had sampled his 1998 Sail Away rhythm. He ridiculed her confession video, dubbing it a “staged performance”.
“You don’t need to stage the truth,” the Governor General awardee said.
The Take Me Away singer chided her for inviting the media to link her personally.
“Clearly, she ah look a buss,” he said.
In November 2019, Stephens had posted on his Instagram page that a member of his tour entourage had accused him of sexual assault during his Jamaican Flava tour in Australia. Stephens, in a lengthy post, had said the allegations were untrue and that the person, who had accused him, had been removed from the tour.
Speaking with OBSERVER ONLINE, Attorney-at-law Christopher Townsend said his client was innocent and warned artistes to be careful of nefarious characters who worm their way into their personal circles to further their own ambitions.
“As his lawyer, he had contacted me early in the day when the authorities detained him. He used his one phone to call me, I gave him instructions on how to treat with it, he followed suit, the investigations were quite thorough, as he indicated, and at the end of the day, the evidence gathered pointed equivocally to his innocence,” Townsend reiterated.
“I invite stars like Richie to be careful of some persons who want to be in your space to further their likes on their social media pages and to further their own gain. A politician of good repute suffered at the hands of his friends who posted a video of him recently. This is not the same situation but in this day and age, there is a trend where people appear to do things to see how many likes they can get, to see their numbers climb on their YouTube pages. They are getting the satisfaction of seeing how many people like them at the expense of people’s reputations,” he warned.
— Claude Mills
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