Russell Simmons Says Sexual Assault Case Is Ploy For Fame

A rape lawsuit against Russell Simmons will move forward.

Simmons’ request for Jane Doe to pay sanctions in her $10 million lawsuit against him was denied for a third time on Thursday, per court documents obtained by Page Six.

The judge stated in his ruling that Simmons’ request based on the statute of limitations wasn’t valid, as he didn’t supply sufficient evidence to support his claim that the statute of limitations on the alleged rape had run out.

Simmons argued in his own court papers from December 21, 2018 that the “complaint is based on the outrageous and fictional claim that Mr. Simmons raped her in Sacramento, California in 1988 after threatening to molest her young son. The statute of limitations for a personal injury claim under California law is two years.” But, the judge said, Simmons did not provide any proof of residency or that he had even traveled to California.

The woman first sued Simmons, 61, in March 2018, claiming that he sexually assaulted her in a hotel room and threatened to rape her son if she didn’t comply.

On Thursday in court, her lawyer, Douglas Mastroianni, argued that, “Remarkably, while the motion argues that the complaint lacks merit, Russell Simmons does not even file a declaration with the court denying that he raped [her]. Having fled the jurisdiction — demonstrating both a lack of courage and a lack of responsibility to his victims, Russell Simmons won’t even sign a declaration denying the sexual assault. Yet he asks the court to find the claims have no merit.”

He later told PageSix, “We are gratified that the court has now — for the third time — refused to dismiss Ms. Doe’s case and refused to sanction Ms. Doe or her lawyer for filing it. While claiming that the case lacks merit, Mr. Simmons refused to file a declaration under penalty of perjury stating that he had not raped the plaintiff. This speaks volumes and we look forward to a trial where plaintiff and her corroborating witnesses will testify.”

Simmons told us in a statement Thursday: “Today was a good day in court. The judge suggested we file a summary judgment motion for dismissal based on the California Statue of Limitations, which is two years. The plaintiff herself admitted that the alleged incident happened 31 years ago. The fact is her allegations are false. Still, this attempt at extortion is at its end. It’s a matter of paper work. I’m glad to be on the road to putting this behind me.”

A slew of sexual misconduct allegations has been made against Simmons since fall 2017, with one coming from PR guru Kelly Cutrone.

“RHONY” star Luann de Lesseps also accused Simmons of groping her.

Ironically, Simmons initiated a #NotMe campaign shortly after but halted it in January 2018.

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