Maui Police Chief John Pelletier has been accused in a lawsuit of trying to cover up a gang rape allegedly orchestrated by Sean “Diddy” Combs.
In response, the mayor of Maui is calling for Pelletier to be placed on leave and investigated.
On Monday, March 10, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen sent a letter to the police commission urging action against Pelletier.
“Given the gravity of the allegations, I recommend that the Maui Police Commission place Chief Pelletier on administrative leave pending further investigation,” Bissen wrote in the letter published by Hawaii News Now.
The mayor also called on the commission “to conduct its own independent review,” instead of waiting for the lawsuit to go to trial.
Related: Druski, Odell Beckham Jr. Deny Allegations in Disturbing Diddy Lawsuit
On March 7, Pelletier’s name was added to an 87-page amended civil lawsuit filed by a woman named Ashley Parham in federal court in Northern California.
Parham said a man she met at a bar lured her to his apartment in Orinda, California on March 23, 2018. After arriving, the accuser alleged she was gang raped by Diddy, NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., internet comedian Drew “Druski” Desbordes, and others.
Beckham and Desbordes issued sharply-worded statements denying the allegations.
The lawsuit alleged Diddy “squirted” Parham with drug-laced oil that left her defenseless, before she was assaulted by multiple men and forcibly penetrated with a TV remote control, as Urban Hollywood 411 previously reported.
The complaint alleged Pelletier came to the neighborhood where the incident happened and pretended to be local law enforcement. Pelletier was a police captain in Las Vegas at the time.
The lawsuit included his picture and accused him of trying to hide the alleged crimes in Orinda by paying off a neighbor who Parham claimed called police after she escaped.
“Pelletier, falsely posing as a Contra Costa Sheriff, told [Parham] and the neighbor that they had received several noise complaints prior to the neighbor’s call and instructed [Parham] to find a way to get home,” the filing said.
Parham claimed she saw Pelletier “hand something to the neighbor, what looked to be an envelope… Plaintiff believes the envelope contained cash.”
This week, Pelletier released a statement saying the allegations are false and there’s no reason to place him on leave.
“I want to address the recent request by Mayor Bissen to the Maui County Police Commission regarding my position as Chief of Police. Let me be clear: the allegations made against me are completely false,” the statement read.
Parham’s attorneys Shawn R. Perez and Ariel Mitchell initially filed the lawsuit in October 2024, but the complaint referred to most of the alleged co-conspirators as anonymous John Does.
The accuser is seeking attorneys fees and damages to be determined at trial.
Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, has previously said the mogul “never” assaulted anyone.
“He looks forward to his day in court when it will become clear that he has never forced anyone to engage in sexual acts against their will,” Agnifilo stated.
The Bad Boy Records founder was arrested on Sept. 16, and charged with three federal counts — racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He remains jailed in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, after being denied bail by three judges. His trial is scheduled to begin on May 5, 2025.
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