|
Unwelcome touching occurred on many occasions over several
years since Jeffrey Wenninger began his employment as a personal
security guard in 2002, and escalated in frequency and intensity
after 2010, the lawsuit said.
Representatives for the "Rocket Man" singer, 69, who is married
to producer David Furnish, called the lawsuit "baseless."
John's attorney Orin Snyder said the lawsuit was "brought by a
disgruntled former security officer seeking to extract an
undeserved payment. These claims are patently untrue and
contradicted by numerous previous statements made by this
plaintiff."
According to the civil lawsuit, filed on Monday in Los Angeles
Superior Court, Wenninger worked as a security guard for John
until about September 2014.
On three occasions in 2014, while riding in John's vehicle
between the singer's homes in the Los Angeles area, John put his
hand in Wenninger's pants, tried to grab his genitals, and put
his hand down Wenninger's shirt and twisted his nipples, the
suit said.
John also made offensive, sexually suggestive comments, such as
"Say Hello to Uncle Elton," according to the suit.
Wenninger tried to verbally and physically resist but John
continued the same behavior, the suit said.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for physical, mental and
emotional distress as well as loss of wages.
(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales; Editing by Jill Serjeant and
Chris Reese)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|
