A second woman recently filed a rape complaint against rapper Lomepal. The latter was confronted, on February 27, with his accusers during police custody as part of the preliminary investigation targeting him in Paris, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from sources close to the case. After these confrontations, the “custody measure” of the singer was “lifted for continuation of preliminary investigations”declared Wednesday March 6 the Paris prosecutor’s office to AFP.
The investigations were launched after the filing in 2020 of a complaint from an acquaintance of the rapper, who accused him of having raped her in 2017 in New York. A second woman filed a complaint at the end of 2023, denouncing acts of rape in 2018 which took place in France, two of the sources close to the case said on Wednesday. In both cases, the facts would have taken place “at the plaintiffs’ home”added another source close to the matter.
“Our client will not speak for the moment, because he wishes to let justice work peacefully”reacted to AFP his lawyers, Mare Jacqueline Laffont and Julie Benedetti. “He was heard at length, was able to respond precisely and provide decisive material elements”they assured. “The criminal classification of the alleged facts is widely subject to debate. His police custody was lifted well before the end of the legal period and without prosecution. The rest of the investigation will establish his innocence”his advice further affirmed.
Concert canceled
At the beginning of August, after the investigation was revealed in the press, the singer spoke on his Instagram account: “Did I force anyone to do anything?” No. Have there been any illegal things? No. And I will never let it be said. » “Late night meetings, where we make love without knowing each other, one-night stands. And for me like everyone else, there can be misunderstandings, different perceptions”estimated the Parisian rapper, 32 years old.
He denounced “delusional and fabricated stories circulating in the music industry”. “We would pay women, we would sign silence agreements, and so on. (…) This is all absurd and false”he insisted.
Lomepal performed at the Electronic Beaches festival in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes) a few days later. On the other hand, the Cabaret vert festival in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes) had canceled its concert scheduled for mid-August, estimating “that a time of retreat and silence is necessary[ait] ».
On July 19, the editor-in-chief of the online media Joly Môme, Jenna Boulmedaïs, revealed on Instagram that she had been hearing for two years “testimonies from women who suffered Antoine’s inappropriate and unwanted actions [Valentinelli, alias] Lomepal ». “The whole music industry knows about it. This silence is literally no longer possible. See his name headlining many festivals too »had denounced the one which has since been the subject of a complaint from the French Music Federation.