T.I. and Tiny will not be charged over 2005 sexual assault allegation
Content warning: This story contains discussion and descriptions of sexual assault.
T.I. and his partner Tiny will not be charged over allegations of sexual assault and drugging, Los Angeles prosecutors have ruled.
As reported by Pitchfork, an anonymous woman alleged that T.I. and Tiny – real names Clifford Harris, Jr. and Tameka Harris, respectively – brought her to a hotel room in 2005. She alleged that Tiny offered her a beverage that was “most likely drugged” and claimed T.I. penetrated her vagina with his toes without her consent.
The woman filed a police report with the Los Angeles Police Department in April this year. However, a declination provided by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said that the case would not be considered as the statute of limitations, which is ten years, has expired.
“Mr. and Mrs. Harris are pleased, but not surprised, by the district attorney’s decision to dismiss these meritless allegations,” Shawn Holley, T.I. and Tiny’s attorney, said in a statement via NBC.
“We appreciate the DA’s careful review of the case and are grateful to be able to put the matter behind us and move on.”
NBC reports that the woman’s lawyer, Tyrone A. Blackburn, said, “The decision by the L.A. prosecutor does not vindicate Clifford Harris or Tiny Harris from the acts of raping and drugging Jane Doe. It only amplifies the need to do away with the statute of limitations for sex crimes.”
In May, the New York Times reported that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department had closed a different case filed against T.I. and Tiny, alleging an incident of sexual assault and drugging in 2010, as the statute of limitations had expired.
Several sexual abuse allegations have been made against T.I. and Tiny, beginning in January when the couple’s former friend Sabrina Peterson shared excerpts of conversations between her and several other women who alleged various instances of sexual abuse and coercion.
Following Peterson’s allegations, T.I. and Tiny said that they “deny in the strongest possible terms these baseless and unjustified allegations”.
In March, lawyer Tyrone A. Blackburn, who was at the time representing 11 people alleging sexual assault against T.I. and Tiny (including Peterson and Jane Doe), said that six other people had come forward to him with allegations against them.
A lawyer for T.I. and Tiny, Steve Sadow, responded to Blackburn’s claims: “Respectfully, when Blackburn exposes his would-be accusers to the light of day by revealing their names, I will have a real comment. Hiding their identities makes it impossible for me to do so.”
In May, T.I. appeared to reference the allegations in the song ‘What It’s Come To’. The following month, he released a music video for the track that depicted him and Tiny as figures at the centre of a grand scheme to take them down.
