Smokey Robinson facing criminal investigation over sexual assault allegations

Smokey Robinson is facing a criminal investigation over accusations of rape and sexual assault made against him by four housekeepers.

It was reported last week that the four women, who have not been named, had brought a civil lawsuit against their former employer, the 85-year-old Motown legend.

Today, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced that it has opened a criminal investigation into the claims.

In a statement, the department said that its Special Victims Bureau is “actively investigating criminal allegations” against Robinson.

The statement said that the investigation is still in its early stages, and no other details would be provided.

John Harris and Herbert Hayden, the lawyers for the women, have said that they are pleased law enforcement is looking into the allegations.

“Our clients intend to fully cooperate with LASD’s ongoing investigation in the pursuit of seeking justice for themselves and others that may have been similarly assaulted by him," the lawyers said in a statement.

Robinson's lawyer has previously called the allegations “vile” and “false” and claimed that the women's lawsuit was "simply an ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon.”

In court filings related to the civil lawsuit reviewed by The Independent, the four Janes Does allege, variously, that Robinson took advantage of them in areas of his Southern California residence “where closed-circuit cameras weren’t located,” refused to wear a condom, and reveled in humiliating them.

Further, according to the foursome’s complaint, Robinson shorted them on wages and never permitted them rest periods or lunch breaks.

Jane Doe 1 began working for Smokey and Frances Robinson on weekends at their Chatsworth home in January 2023, according to the bombshell complaint, which was filed May 6 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The first sexual assault occurred that March, when Robinson – as he allegedly did on a “typical Saturday” – would “rush home” after taking his wife to the nail salon, the complaint states.

“Upon returning home… Robinson would call [Jane Doe 1] into his blue bedroom, lock the door and escort their dog Shilo out of the room,” the complaint goes on.

Robinson, clad only in his underwear, would then place a towel on the bed so as “not to soil the bed linens, in preparation for what was about to occur,” the complaint contends. Robinson would then penetrate Jane Doe 1, without protection, while “casually” ignoring her protestations, the complaint continues.

It says Robinson assaulted Jane Doe 1 at least seven times over 13 months, until she was finally forced to quit. The woman was too scared to tell police about Robinson for fear of losing her livelihood, shame and embarrassment, and the “possible adverse effect on her immigration status,” the complaint states.

“Defendant Frances Robinson failed to take the appropriate corrective action to prevent Defendant Smokey Robinson’s deviant misconduct against JD1, despite having full knowledge of his prior acts of sexual misconduct, having settled cases with other women that suffered and experienced similar sexual assaults perpetuated by him,” it says.

Jane Doe 2 worked for the Robinsons from 2014 through 2020, and says she was first assaulted by Smokey two years into her tenure.

Her allegations almost exactly mirror those leveled by Jane Doe 1, and the complaint says Robinson’s “brutal sexual advances were constant and even predictable throughout her employment.”

When she and Robinson were alone in his house, he “would text message her, asking her to meet him at areas in their Chatsworth residence where closed-circuit cameras weren’t located,” the complaint asserts. The assaults would then commence, according to the complaint.

“Defendant Smokey Robinson sexually assaulted her in this manner on at least twenty-three different occasions,” the complaint alleges, adding that Robinson threatened Jane Doe 2 that if she refused his demands, he “would make Defendant Frances Robinson be ‘mean’ to her, which she was very capable of being.”

Jane Doe 3 endured the same alleged abuse between 2012 and 2024, when she finally quit, according to the complaint.

Robinson raped Jane Doe 3 “at least twenty times,” the complaint alleges. On one occasion, when Jane Doe 3 resisted Robinson, he offered her $500 to let him pleasure her – an “offer she refused,” the complaint says.

For Jane Doe 4, the situation was much the same, the complaint states. It says she began working for the Robinsons in 2006 as a housekeeper, eventually also serving as Frances’s personal assistant, cook, and hairdresser. The first assault took place the following year at Robinson’s Las Vegas home, and continued “there and other places,” such as a temporary residence Robinson had in Bell Canyon, according to the complaint.

“Defendant Smokey Robinson would often create a situation or seize the opportunity where he would be alone with JD4 at their Chatsworth residence,” the complaint states.

“His sexual harassment and assaults continued to the very day she decided to resign her employment,” it concludes.

The four women are seeking at least $450 million in damages.

Additional reporting by Associated Press