US singer Smokey Robinson faces criminal probe after allegations of sexual assault

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) - US soul singer Smokey Robinson is under criminal probe after four former housekeepers accused him of years of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed earlier this month, according to a law enforcement official.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department stated Thursday that the investigation is still in its early stages and declined to give additional details, NBC News reported.

An attorney for Robinson, 85, whose legal name is William Robinson Jr., said he welcomes the investigation and is "confident that a determination will be made that Mr. Robinson did nothing wrong, and that this is a desperate attempt to prejudice public opinion and make even more of a media circus than the Plaintiffs were previously able to create."

Attorney Christopher Frost, referring to Smokey Robinson's wife, stated: "The record will ultimately demonstrate that this is nothing more than a manufactured lawsuit intended to tarnish the good names of Smokey and Frances Robinson for no other reason than unadulterated avarice."

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeks $50 million in damages and names the plaintiffs as former housekeepers. It also accuses Frances Robinson of fostering a hostile work environment.

Robinson first gained fame as part of musical group the Miracles in the 1960s.