Content Warning: This article covers sexual assault incidents. If you or someone you know are affected by the following story, you are not alone. To speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Jamie-Lee Dimes, the Aotearoa-born, Los Angeles and Gold Coast-based artist is taking legal action against US music executive Scott Leonard, who she accuses of sexual assault.
Dimes, along with fellow artist Courtney Barriger, has filed a suit alleging that on separate occasions, Leonard drugged their drinks and sexually assaulted them at his Joshua Tree home.
Known as the Kellogg Doolittle house, Dimes’ filing alleges she was drugged and assaulted by Leonard in 2022 at the property after she accepted an invitation to discuss her career at his home.
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According to reports, Dimes claims that after the discussion about her career at the home, Leonard raped her.
“This incident took away my dreams, the light behind my eyes, and my spirit, and for myself and other artists seeking to navigate the perils of this industry I won’t stay quiet any longer,” Dimes said in a statement.
Barriger’s filing claims she was also drugged and sexually assaulted in the home in 2021.
Both Dimes and Barriger filed police reports with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. However, according to the attorney representing both women, Nick Rowley, the police reports were lost due to a cyberattack restricting them from accessing police reports submitted from April 2019 to April 2023.
“He’s managed to escape criminal liability because the San Bernardino County sheriff’s lost their records because their system was hacked, and that’s why we have the civil justice system – is to hold them accountable civilly,” Rowley said.
Following the newly filed police reports, submitted this year to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, US publications LA Times, Daily Mail and Fox LA have delivered reporting on the suit.
Taking to Instagram to express her disgust at the harmful comments she received in light of the news coverage, Dimes wrote:
“If you meet someone through a friend and they used to be ‘bjorks [sic] manager’ used to be anr at Capitol records, and your album is being considered for a Grammy, you’re going to go have a music session. The industry doesn’t work like 9-5 its who you know.”
In 2022, Dimes’ triple j-supported debut album Hell and Heaven Come in Threes was included on the 65th annual Grammy Awards ballot and considered for a nomination for Best Americana album.
“ANR stands for ARTIST AND REPERTOIRE they develop the songs and sounds with artists and report to the labels and industry on behalf of you,” Dimes continued in her post to Instagram
“So before you come after me, think about that. This industry is built on predatory behavior and as someone told me this week, the music industry got a hall pass on Me Too.”
59-year-old Scott Leonard is a former artist manager and major-label executive, who also owns a recording studio in LA. According to LA Times, Leonard is facing seven criminal counts in LA over a 2022 incident involving a fire at the studio.
26-year-old musician Nathan Avery Edwards, AKA Avery Drift was killed in the blaze and Ozzy Osbourne’s daughter, Aimée was injured.
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At time of writing, Leonard has not been charged with a crime. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is investigating both cases.
