The Tupac legend, whose career has spanned nearly 50 years, is back in the news again, this time after his alleged gang rape was made public by a video posted online.
Tupac Shakury’s name is being linked to a rape case in a northern California suburb, a move that’s raising concerns that the rapper could be in danger of being prosecuted for an assault.
In December, he posted a video to YouTube saying that he was “ready to get off this plane.”
He then appeared to apologize for the video and claimed he was joking.
The video went viral.
But now, according to the Los Angeles Times, the LAPD has filed a civil rights complaint against the rapper and his attorneys, alleging that he violated a California law that bans “gang-raping.”
The complaint alleges that Shakury violated a gang-rap ordinance by “raping, sexually assaulting, and/or attempting to rape” a man in his hometown of Redding.
According to the LAPD, Shakury told investigators he got into a fight with two other men when he was 21 years old and was taken into custody.
He was taken to a local hospital and raped, but the man said Shakury put his arms around him and tried to kiss him, according the Los Vegas Review Journal.
The man told police he asked the rapper if he was his friend, but he said he didn’t want to talk to him.
When he asked if he could leave, Shakur allegedly responded, “no, I’m not going anywhere.”
Shakury was released from the hospital in the afternoon and later went to the Redding police station.
According the newspaper, the victim told the police that when Shakury arrived at the Reddings police station, he was intoxicated and asked Shakury to give him a ride home.
Shakur allegedly asked the man to “call the cops on me.”
When the victim didn’t give him the name of a police department, Shakurs lawyer, Jonathan Rosenbaum, said the man told him, “I’m not the one to call the cops.”
Rosenbaum said the complaint is not related to the video.
He also said the victim, who has not been named, told the LAPD he was raped at a friend’s house.
“They have a right to be able to protect themselves from the public, and to make sure they’re not committing a crime,” Rosenbaum said.
Police say the complaint doesn’t state whether or not the victim’s attorney contacted the Los Valley News-Review newspaper, which first reported the case.
“It’s just a matter of time before somebody reports the assault, or somebody makes the allegation that’s against the person,” Rosenbaecker said.
In a statement, the Los Feliz police department said it’s investigating the allegations.
