Jermaine Jackson has, for the first time, filed court papers denying that he raped a session musician coordinator in 1988 — and he wants to axe a $6.5 million judgment in her lawsuit.
The Jackson 5 member, who has also had a prolific solo career with Billboard Hot 100 hits like “Daddy’s Home”, “Let’s Get Serious” and “Do What You Do,” was found liable by default last month after failing to respond to Rita Butler Barrett’s sexual assault and battery claims for more than two years. But on Tuesday (June 2), Jackson said he didn’t ignore the claims on purpose.
“I did not know this lawsuit was pending in time to respond,” wrote Jackson in a court declaration, obtained by Billboard. “I did not rape plaintiff. I did not sexually assault plaintiff. I deny the material allegations of the complaint, deny liability and dispute damages. I request the opportunity to defend this case on the merits.”
Barrett, a music contractor who worked with Jackson in the late 1980s, sued the singer in 2023 under a one-year legislative window that allowed rape victims to bring claims that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations. She alleged that in the spring of 1988, Jackson showed up at her Los Angeles-area home unannounced, forced his way through the door and violently raped her.
Barrett’s attorneys obtained a $6.5 million default judgment after trying and failing to serve Jackson at an Encino address and then publishing multiple notices in the Los Angeles Times. Yet Jackson maintains that all this was ineffectual because he lives abroad in Bahrain, and the newspaper notices used his “obsolete former legal name.”
Jackson changed his name in 2013 to “Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun.” His attorney, Bret Lewis, argued in a Tuesday motion that notices using the old name “Jermaine Jackson” were not enough to alert the singer to Barrett’s claims.
“This is not a case of a defendant ignoring papers actually received,” wrote Lewis. “It is a case of constructive notice stacked on constructive notice, under an obsolete former legal name, despite public records showing defendant’s correct legal name and plaintiff’s own service evidence pointing away from California and toward an overseas location.”
The motion urged Judge Elaine W. Mandel to vacate the $6.5 million default judgment and allow Jackson to fully defend himself against Barrett’s allegations. The judge is set to consider this request at a June 30 hearing in Los Angeles.
Barrett’s lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday (June 4).
