Smokey Robinson was investigated for sexual assault allegation in 2015 but no charges were filed

Smokey Robinson attends the screening for "The Apollo" during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival on April 24, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES — Authorities investigated a previous sexual assault allegation against Smokey Robinson in 2015, but no charges were filed because of insufficient evidence, prosecutors said Friday.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office confirmed the decade-old investigation and its decision to decline charges in a statement on Friday. The office said no details could be provided because of the current investigation of Robinson.

Four former housekeepers of the singer-songwriter and Motown music luminary have alleged that he raped and sexually assaulted them between 2007 and 2024. The women filed a lawsuit on May 6, then the following week the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department revealed that its Special Victims Bureau was “actively investigating criminal allegations” against Robinson.

Robinson’s attorney Christopher Frost said in a statement Friday that they are “pleased” that the district attorney “confirmed there was no basis to file charges a decade ago.”

“One unfortunate aspect of celebrity is that it is not uncommon to be the target of spurious and unsubstantiated allegations,” Frost said. “Mr. Robinson looks forward to the conclusion of the current investigation, and has no doubt that a similar determination will be reached here.”

Frost previously called the housekeepers’ allegations “vile” and “false.”

The 2015 case was first reported by TMZ.

On Wednesday, Robinson and his wife, Frances, who was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, sued the women for defamation, saying their allegations were “fabricated in an extortionate scheme.”

A statement Friday from the housekeepers’ lawyers, John Harris and Herbert Hayden, emphasized that there were no charges in the 2015 case “due to insufficient evidence -- not because the claims lacked merit.”

They said “this latest development further affirms that at least five women have now come forward with allegations of sexual assault against Mr. Robinson. Together, they are united in their pursuit of justice.”

Robinson, a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, was a key figure in the Motown Records machine of the 1960s as both an artist and a writer, and was one of the biggest hitmakers of the era with songs including “Tears of a Clown” and “The Tracks of My Tears.”

The housekeepers are seeking at least US$50 million in the lawsuit. They have not publicly revealed their names.

They allege Robinson raped and sexually assaulted them after isolating them, usually in his home. One woman said she was assaulted at least 20 times while working for Robinson from 2012 until 2024. Another said she worked for him from 2014 until 2020 and was assaulted at least 23 times.

They said Frances Robinson enabled him and created an abusive workplace.

The Robinsons’ defamation lawsuit says the women “stayed with the Robinsons year after year,” vacationed with them, celebrated holidays with them, exchanged gifts with them, asked for tickets to his concerts, and sought and received help from them including money for dental surgery, financial support for a disabled family member, and “even a car.”

The court filing says that despite the couple’s generosity, the women “secretly harbored resentment for the Robinsons and sought to enrich themselves through the Robinsons’ wealth.”

Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press