A senior cop who worked on the case has told Jamaican media that the case with Richie Stephens, who has been accused of rape in November 2019 while they were in Melbourne, Australia, for a music tour, says that the case has been closed.
The officer Amanda Hill was quoted by the Jamaica Gleaner where she declined to comment on the matter.
“Given the circumstances of this matter, I do not wish to comment other than the investigation is closed.”
Despite the conclusion by Australian authorities, Elaine Lim, also known as General Ling, has continued to accuse the singer of rape and lamenting the lack of justice she has received in light of the incident. In an interview with dancehall deejay Mr. Vegas on Sunday, Lim and her husband spoke of the trauma Lim went through as she recovered from the incident. Her husband also alleged that he witnessed Richie Stephens kiss his wife, but Stephens later apologized and claimed he was drunk.
Despite that, she still went to work on tour with the artiste.
Lim has maintained that she has no reasons to lie and has maintained that the singer assaulted her as she did not consent to sexual activity with him.
Meanwhile, Richie Stephens’ lawyer, Christopher Townsend, says that his client has retained him, but he is considering suing Lim for her statements. However, the artist hasn’t fully made up his mind about whether or not he wants to sue Lim.
According to Townsend, there are “no plans for a suit yet. It may not be necessary because truly a suit like that may not be useful. Whether or not we are going full blown we don’t know yet but certainly he has asked us to position ourselves for one, just in case he makes the decision to file suit.”
Townsend added that his client is maintaining his innocence.
Meanwhile, a witness has spoken to the Gleaner and partly corroborated the statements made by General Lim.
According to Masia One, a Singapore-Canadian artiste that recorded a single with Richie Stephens called “Jamaican Flava,” which they were promoting across Asia and Australia, she noticed that General Lim had a different demeanor after she returned from the studio.
In an earlier video, General Lim claimed that the incident occurred on November 12 and 13 while the manager with them had gone to the studio.
According to Masia One, when she returned to the Airbnb, she noticed that Lim was reserved and did not speak much. She also showered several times that morning after the alleged incident.
“She looked hurt so I asked her to tell me what’s up. She just shook her head, but tears started coming from her eyes. I told her I would not force her to tell me what happened, but asked if she would like to see a doctor, and she said ‘yes’.”
According to Masia One, after visiting a local clinic, General Lim was referred to a local hospital for a rape kit to be done.
“From there I realized what had happened so I decided that we could not return to that place and stay in the same quarters as someone that she was alleging that sexually assaulted her. So we stayed with a friend far away from the Airbnb.”
She added that the incident was reported to the police the following day. Masia One added that she pulled out of the tour after that, and she hasn’t spoken to Stephens since then.
Meanwhile, Stephens’ lawyer said, “it would be unfair of my client to bring other persons into this debacle whose names have not been called. The police in Australia have the names and their statements.”
The lawyer added that should the case be reopened, both Elaine Lim and Richie Stephens should be subjected to lie detector tests.
