Los Angeles prosecutors have charged CeeLo Green with giving Ecstasy to a woman who claimed the singer drugged her and had sex with her, but have declined to file charges of sexual assault against him, citing insufficient evidence.
Green appeared in a downtown L.A. courtroom Monday afternoon, wearing sunglasses and a black mesh top that extended past his knees, to plead not guilty to the single felony count of furnishing a controlled substance. If convicted, he faces up to four years in state prison.
Green, whose real name is Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, was accused by a 33-year-old woman he dined with at a downtown Los Angeles sushi restaurant last July of placing Ecstasy, also known as MDMA or Molly, in her drink.
The woman later told Los Angeles Police detectives she woke up naked in bed in her hotel room with Green. The department opened an investigation into the woman's allegations and consulted with prosecutors, who asked detectives to continue to seek evidence in the case.
The 39-year-old singer, a judge on the NBC show “The Voice,” allegedly admitted to law enforcement that he took Ecstasy, but denied drugging the woman's drink or committing sexual assault. Law enforcement sources said police did not believe there was evidence of “wrongful intent.”
NBC declined to comment.
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