Bassnectar denied dismissal of sexual abuse lawsuit, which will head to trial in 2025

Bassnectar has been denied a dismissal he requested of a sexual abuse lawsuit against him, and it will head to trial in 2025.

In 2020, Bassnectar – real name Lorin Ashton – announced that he would be “stepping back” from making music after being accused of sexual misconduct by multiple people. These consisted of claims that were made via an Instagram account called @evidenceagainstbassnectar.

The next year, in April 2021, a lawsuit was filed against Ashton by Rachel Ramsbottom and Alexis Bowling – they allege that the producer and DJ engaged in sexual abuse of minors, a human trafficking venture, as well as manufacturing and possessing child pornography. Two more people, identified as Jenna Houston and Jane Doe #1, joined the lawsuit the next month.

Ashton has continued to deny all allegations made against him. “These outrageous claims – which were clearly designed for the media, rather than for the courts – are completely without merit, and we eagerly look forward to proving so,” said Ashton’s attorney Mitchell Schuster in a statement to NME in 2021.

Now, a Rolling Stone report has revealed that Ashton failed to win a dismissal of the lawsuit. A ruling issued on Thursday (December 5) by a federal judge revealed that the case is able to proceed towards a trial, currently set for February 2025. The report has stated that the lawsuit only comprises three women as plaintiffs – Ramsbottom, Bowling, and Houston.

Ashton reportedly claimed in his dismissal motion that the three women suing him had lied about their ages in order to “deceive” him into believing they were at least 18 years old. He further claimed he never “enticed” the plaintiffs into underage sex and never paid them for sexual contact.

Per Rolling Stone, Ramsbottom alleges that she began correspondence with Ashton in 2012, when she was 17 and he was 34. She claims she initially told him she was 18 but later “confessed” she was only 17. She claims he invited her to a Memphis hotel, had sex with her there, and then pulled a “wad of money” out of his backpack and handed it to her.

U.S. District Court Judge Aleta A. Trauger wrote in her ruling: “The court finds that whether this money constituted payment or remuneration for sex constitutes a jury question.”

M. Stewart Ryan, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement to Rolling Stone: “Our clients are very happy that the court agreed with us that this case must be heard by a jury. Rachel, Alexis, and Jenna all look forward to their day in court, yet another step on their journey to justice in this case.”

Meanwhile, Ashton’s lawyers Mitch Schuster and Kimberly S. Hodde tell Rolling Stone that they “welcome yesterday’s ruling”, adding: “The judge’s decision to dismiss multiple causes of action is very significant and, as the ruling indicated repeatedly, while the law dictates that other claims are allowed to proceed to trial, the evidence supporting them is extremely thin.”

“This is an important step forward and we look forward to completing Lorin Ashton’s exoneration at trial,” they continued.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.