A woman who accused the multiplatinum rapper Nelly of raping her on his tour bus after a concert last weekend in Auburn, Wash., has told the local police that she will not testify against him and wishes to end the investigation, her lawyer said Friday.
“We do not live in a society where a 21 year old college student can feel safe enough to pursue criminal charges against a celebrity for an alleged rape,” Karen Koehler, the lawyer for the accuser, wrote in an open letter that she posted on Twitter.
She said the woman had made her desire to “put a halt to the criminal investigation” known to the
Auburn Police Department and the King County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday afternoon.
“She will not testify further in a criminal proceeding against him,” Ms. Koehler wrote.
Cmdr. Steve Stocker of the Auburn Police Department said that the investigation was proceeding as of Friday afternoon. “We’re not going to just halt the investigation,” he said. “We’re still investigating the case, and it’s probably going to be referred to the prosecutor’s office sometime next week.”
Scott Rosenblum, a lawyer for Nelly, said in a statement that the accuser’s desire to end the investigation was “welcome news.”
“This is simply not enough,” he added. “This type of reckless allegation is an affront to women who are real victims of sexual assault. I am suggesting that Nelly seeks a public apology. I am further suggesting that Nelly considers whatever legal options are available to him.”
In her letter on Friday, Ms. Koehler, the lawyer for the accuser, said: “Every step of the way since the time she called 911, she wishes she had not. Not because what happened didn’t occur exactly the way she described it. Not because she did not want the police to charge the celebrity with alleged rape.
“She wishes she had not called 911 because she believes the system is going to fail her.”
Citing harassment online and by the news media, Ms. Koehler added: “She cannot handle this. She is about to break. She wants to close the door. She wants this to end.”
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