The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rapper, wife will not face sexual assault charges after statute expires
Atlanta residents Clifford “T.I.” Harris and Tameka “Tiny” Cottle-Harris won’t be charged in the alleged sexual assault and drugging of a woman in 2005, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
The lawsuit filed by a “Jane Doe” this year led to a raft of other similar accusations.
Prosecutors at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office cited that the accusations fell outside the 10-year statute of limitations.
“Without the strength and weaknesses of the evidence being evaluated, the case is declined due to the expiration of the Statute of Limitations,” according to the LAPD.
Shawn Holley, an attorney representing T.I. and Tiny, released a statement to People magazine: “Mr. and Mrs. Harris are pleased, but not surprised, by the District Attorney’s decision to dismiss these meritless allegations. We appreciate the DA’s careful review of the case and are grateful to be able to put the matter behind us and move on.”
A similar case was dropped by the Las Vegas police this year for the same reason, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
In the spring, Tyrone A. Blackburn, an attorney representing several women who also claimed to have been sexually assaulted by the couple, said in a release that numerous “women, survivors and witnesses” have provided him “a myriad of allegations of forced drugging, kidnapping, rape, and intimidation” over a span of 15 years.
Through statements, both T.I. and Tiny this year denied all these accusations: “Mr. and Mrs. Harris want to be on record and more importantly want the public to know they emphatically deny in the strongest way possible the egregiously appalling allegations being made against them.”