Music producer Russell Simmons denies new reports of misconduct

NEW YORK - Music and film producer Russell Simmons faced new accusations of sexual misconduct from nine woman dating back to 1983, including four who alleged he raped them, and New York police have opened an investigation, police and U.S. newspapers said on Saturday.

In an emailed statement, the 60-year-old co-founder of Def Jam Records denied the accusations from the nine women reported by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

"These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual," Simmons said in the statement.

Simmons, one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the hip-hop world, said last month that he was stepping down from his production and fashion businesses after a screenwriter said he sexually assaulted her in 1991. He has denied the incident and said that he remembered it differently than the accuser.

The statement said the current accusations "range from the patently untrue to the frivolous and hurtful. The presumption of innocent until proven guilty must not be replaced by 'Guilty by Accusation.'"

The allegations of rape reported by the New York Times were between 1988 and 1995 from a music journalist, a singer he managed and a former executive producer at Def Jam Records.

The new allegations reported by the Los Angeles Times dated back to 1983 for one from a member of an all-female hip-hop group who claimed Simmons raped her and included another from a massage therapist who said he exposed himself and asked her to touch him.

In an Instagram post over the weekend, Simmons used the hashtag #NotMe, in contrast with the #MeToo hashtag used by millions of women on social media to share their stories of sexual abuse.

"Today, I begin to properly defend myself," Simmons wrote. "My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in anyway, but instead hold my accusers accountable. #NotMe." - AP