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Nelly Sued for Sexual Assault, Defamation

Rapper has publicly denied UW student’s accusations.

Nelly, the rapper of Hot in Herre fame, is being sued for sexual assault and defamation by his alleged victim after his public denial of the accusations and charge that she was fabricating an attack. Nelly, born Cornell Haynes Jr., was arrested in October on charges that he allegedly raped the 22-year-old University of Washington student. Prosecutors dropped the case last week, claiming they couldn’t “proceed or fully assess the merits of the case” without the cooperation of the victim, who had told authorities she wanted to discontinue the investigation. “She didn’t want to be a fighter at all,” said her lawyer, Karen Koehler. “She didn’t want anyone to know what happened to her… She honestly decided to stand up for herself after that last horrible post they made against her.” Nelly’s lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, said the suit “comes as no surprise … We always believed her accusation was motivated by greed.”