An unnamed accuser is seeking a ruling in his sexual abuse lawsuit against Afrika Bambaataa.
According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, Afrika Bambaataa never responded to the lawsuit. His accuser’s lawyer filed a new motion for a default judgment.
“The defendant has failed to appear, answer or otherwise respond to the plaintiff’s duly served verified complaint, has been provided with the statutorily required notice as to the initiation of this proceeding, and his time for responding has expired without any answer being served or motion made,” attorney Hugo G. Ortega wrote. “Hence, this Honorable Court should grant plaintiff a default judgment against the defendant and set this matter down for an assessment on plaintiff’s damages.”
Afrika Bambaataa’s accuser was identified as John Doe in the lawsuit. The alleged victim said he was 12 years old when he first met the Hip Hop pioneer in 1991.
The plaintiff quickly became a member of the Zulu Nation and joined Afrika Bambaataa’s security team. The alleged victim said he was often invited to the DJ’s apartment, which led to the sexual abuse.
“[Afrika Bambaataa] frequently commented on my muscular body and would touch me on my shoulders, biceps and torso,” John Doe recalled. “This progressed to his touching my private parts as well as encouraging me to watch Pornographic videos as well as to masturbate in his presence while watching those pornographic videos.”
John Doe claimed he was groomed, raped, and sexually trafficked by Afrika Bambaataa, whose real name is Lance Taylor.
“Eventually, defendant Lance Taylor would masturbate in my presence as well after which the conduct escalated to mutual masturbation and then progressed to sodomy,” John Doe explained. “I then became a victim of sex trafficking as Defendant Taylor would transport me to other locations where he would offer me for sex with other, older men and would watch as I was sodomized by those other men. This abuse continued until 1995.”
The plaintiff said he “lost the ability to enjoy life itself” due to the abuse. He allegedly suffered physical and emotional distress, including suicidal thoughts and depression.
John Doe is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Afrika Bambaataa denied multiple allegations of sexual abuse in 2016.
“Recently, defamatory statements were published seeking to harm my client’s reputation so as to lower him in the estimation of the community while deterring others from associating or dealing with him. The statements show a reckless disregard for the truth, were published with knowledge of their falsity, and are being made by a lesser-known person seeking publicity. Valuable cultural resources, such as Afrika Bambaataa’s good name and time, should never be used to assist a mediocre person’s asinine quest for social media popularity and superficial gain,” Bam’s attorney Attorney Vivian K. Tozaki told AllHipHop.com.