Sexual assault lawsuit against Danny Elfman dismissed

Last year, an anonymous woman sued Danny Elfman, veteran film score composer and former frontman of Oingo Boingo, for sexual assault, gender-based violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual harassment and negligence. The Maryland woman, who appeared in court documents as Jane Doe, claimed Elfman sexually abused her from 1997 to 2002, when she was in her early twenties and he was in his late forties. Now, a Los Angeles judge has granted Elfman's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Rolling Stone reports that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lisa K. Sepe-Wiesenfeld dismissed the lawsuit against Danny Elfman on Wednesday, ruling that the Jane Doe “should not get anything out of this lawsuit.” Because the plaintiff claimed that she was often asleep at the time of the assaults, Judge Sepe-Wiesenfeld ruled that she “made only speculative statements that it was possible that she had been sexually assaulted.” She also ruled that many of the Jane Doe's complaints were too old to be pursued.

According to the Jane Doe's attorney, she stands by her claims. In a statement, Elfman's attorney said, “The court's dismissal of this case confirms what we have said all along – that these claims are without merit.” The Jane Doe filed her claims against Elfman after another woman, Los Angeles composer Nomi Abadi, sued Elfman for failing to pay several installments of an $830,000 sexual harassment settlement. In a statement, Elfman denied Abadi's allegations, and she sued him again for defamation. Elfman still faces both lawsuits.

Elfman composed the music for the new film of his long-time collaborator Tim Burton Beetlejuice Beetlejuicewhich is coming to cinemas today.