By Canadian Press

Model wins $15M rape lawsuit against Grammy-winning producer

Sep 28, 2019 | 1:25 PM

LOS ANGELES — A model and aspiring singer who alleged in a lawsuit that she was raped and sexually and emotionally abused by Grammy-winning music producer Detail has been awarded $15 million.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge made the ruling Wednesday for Kristina Buch against Noel Fisher, known professionally as Detail. He won a Grammy for co-writing the Beyonce and Jay-Z hit “Drunk in Love” and has also produced hits for Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Wiz Khalifa.

Buch sued Fisher late last year, but neither Fisher nor attorneys responded to summons or filed any documents, leading to Wednesday’s default judgment.

An email sent to Fisher’s attorney, I. Mark Bledstein, seeking comment Wednesday was not immediately returned, and multiple attempts to reach Fisher were unsuccessful.

Fisher has said in court documents filed in two other lawsuits that all the allegations against him are false, and have led to his losing all work and being evicted.

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Buch said in her suit that she met Fisher at a recording studio when she was working as a model after arriving in Los Angeles from Indiana in 2016.

She said Fisher had agreed to help her launch a music career and had started making recordings with her, but soon became aggressive and abusive, demanding sex and telling her it was necessary to get somewhere in the industry, and eventually raping her when she refused.

Buch’s attorney, William J. Briggs, said in a statement that no one “should have to suffer the type of abuse Ms. Buch has suffered at the hands of Mr. Fisher. We are gratified that the court saw that Mr. Fisher should be held accountable for subjecting Ms. Buch to this horrible abuse.”

Buch is one of six women, some established professionals and others music-industry newcomers, who have spoken out publicly against what they said was Fisher’s sexual aggression.

At least two, both former assistants, have filed their own lawsuits.

One of them, Isabella Mack, said in her lawsuit that she was forcefully held against her will while Fisher masturbated and that he demanded she pose for nude pictures and videos.

Both of those lawsuits were headed toward their own default judgments against Fisher, but he and attorneys have begun filing documents to attempt to revive and fight them in recent months. Fisher said in those court documents that he never received notices about the lawsuits because he lost his home and work addresses after the allegations emerged.

The Associated Press typically does name alleged sexual abuse victims, but Buch and Mack agreed to make their names public via their lawsuits and public statements by them or their lawyers.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton.

Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press