The Los Angeles Police Department has launched an active sexual assault investigation into Clifford “T.I.” Harris Jr and Tameka “Tiny” Cottle-Harris. Over 30 women in multiple states accused the celebrity couple of forced drugging, kidnapping, rape, and intimidation.
According to The Daily Beast, an anonymous woman spoke to LAPD detectives in April about an alleged assault that took place in 2005. Attorney Tyrone A. Blackburn claimed he communicated with law enforcement authorities in February on behalf of at least eight people, including the Jane Doe in California.
Blackburn is also representing Rachelle Jenks. The 41-year-old woman supposedly filed a police report against T.I. and Tiny in Las Vegas, Nevada earlier this month. Previously, Blackburn called on law enforcement in multiple states to open investigations into his clients’ claims.
The allegations of sexual assault and violence against the Harrises became national news in January after former family friend Sabrina Peterson accused T.I. of once holding a gun to her head. The allegations were amplified even more when former T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle cast member Shekinah Anderson publicly accused Peterson of recruiting women for sexual encounters with T.I. and Tiny.
T.I. has maintained the accusations against him and his wife are completely false. In January, he posted an 8-minute video on social media addressing the mounting claims of misconduct. The 40-year-old emcee/actor wrote in the Instagram caption, “No weapon formed against us shall prosper. We vehemently deny ALL these disgusting, anonymous allegations.”
Steve Sadow, attorney for Clifford and Tameka Harris, released the following statement:
Clifford (T.I.) and Tameka Harris deny in the strongest possible terms these unsubstantiated and baseless allegations. We are confident that if these claims are thoroughly and fairly investigated, no charges will be forthcoming. These allegations are nothing more than the continuation of a sordid shakedown campaign that began on social media. The Harrises implore everyone not to be taken in by these obvious attempts to manipulate the press and misuse the justice system.
In recent years, T.I. began embracing a more political tone in his music as opposed to the street-based lyrics of his early career. The Us or Else: Letter to the System creator seemed to suggest he was experiencing a media witch hunt similar to the persecution of African-American civil rights activists.
“From Malcolm X to John Africa to anybody. To the Chairman, Fred Hampton, it’s gonna always be challenged as long as you’re trying to be a voice for the voiceless,” said T.I. during a February interview with The Shade Room. “You just gotta believe enough in your purpose to stand and go on through it. But other people’s fantasies and fiction of me will never overrule the facts I know of myself.”
