Jermaine Jackson has been hit with a lawsuit that claims he sexually assaulted a woman in 1988 after forcing himself into her home. The civil lawsuit, which was filed by a woman named Rita Butler Barrett on Wednesday (Dec. 27), accuses the Jackson 5 member of sexual battery, battery, sexual assault, and negligence.
According to court documents obtained by Page Six, the alleged victim says the attack occurred in her Los Angeles home and Jackson acted “with force and violence.” Barrett, who “prayed to God for help” and “feared for her life” during Jackson’s attack, says that the music star left the residence only after becoming sexually “satiated.”
Barrett, a former musician’s contractor, claims that she notified Motown Records founder Berry Gordy of Jackson’s actions, but that Gordy “withheld and concealed the acts, further perpetuating the coverup” of the alleged crime.
The accuser also charges Jackson, Gordy, and others with engaging in a “concerted effort to hide evidence relating to sexual assault,” which in turn allowed them “to continue to reap profits derived from [Jackson’s] work and reputation for years to come.”
Barrett says the alleged cover up denied her the “the ability to mitigate her damages, obtain therapeutic support and disclose the trauma to others” and left her “forced to suffer in silence and shame for decades.”
In addition to Jackson, Barrett is also suing Jermaine L. Jackson Music Productions, Inc. and Work Records, Inc. and is seeking a trial by jury. Jackson or his representatives have yet to respond to the allegations.
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