CeeLo Green accused of giving woman ecstasy, but DA declines rape charge
October 22, 2013 -- Updated 0049 GMT (0849 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: CeeLo Green pleads "not guilty" to drug charge
- Green's lawyer says she's pleased DA rejected "false and unfounded claims" of rape
- Green is accused of "slipping ecstasy" to a woman while the two were dining, DA says
- Prosecutors cited insufficient evidence for a charge of rape of an intoxicated person
Los Angeles (CNN) -- CeeLo Green won't be charged with sexual assault, but the "Voice" coach will be prosecuted for allegedly giving ecstasy to a female victim, the Los Angeles district attorney's office said Monday.
Green, 39, "allegedly slipped ecstasy to a 33-year-old female while the two were dining at a downtown Los Angeles restaurant sometime between July 13 and July 14, 2012," according to a statement from the prosecutor. "The two later went back to the woman's hotel."
The district attorney's office cited insufficient evidence for the decision not to file a charge of rape of an intoxicated person.
Green's music career, which he began as a member of the Southern hip-hop group Goodie Mob, has earned him five Grammys, but Green is also known as a contestant coach on NBC's singing competition "The Voice." NBC declined to comment about his future with the show in light of the case.
Green's attorney issued a statement Monday afternoon saying she and Green were pleased with the prosecutor's conclusion "that the evidence did not support the false and unfounded claims made over a year ago."
"Mr. Green encouraged a full and complete investigation of those claims and he was confident once conducted he would be cleared of having any wrongful intent and it would be established that any relations were consensual," attorney Blair Berk said. "CeeLo had faith that if the true facts were known the district attorney would reject those charges."
Green "will responsibly address" the drug charge in court, Berk said.
He appeared before a judge in a downtown Los Angeles court Monday afternoon.
"Are you relieved?" a reporter asked him before his arraignment. The singer-songwriter nodded "Yes."
"Are you scared?" the reporter asked. "No," Green replied.
He entered a plea of not guilty minutes later. A bond agent was there with him to handle the posting of a $30,000 bond.
The judge ordered Green to report to a sheriff's station for booking within 24 hours and to return to court for another hearing on November 20 at 8:30 a.m.
Green, whose real name is Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, could be sentenced to up to four years in prison if found guilty of the one felony count of furnishing a controlled substance, the statement said.
CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report.
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