Derrick May, one of the founders of techno, has issued a statement denying sexual assault allegations leveled in recent days on social media and covered by several music news sites.
The one known first-hand allegation against the 56-year-old comes from a woman in Spain, who wrote on Facebook last week that May sexually assaulted her 13 years ago, when she was an intern at a luxury hotel in Amsterdam. Additional accusations have been made by two people who say they’ve spoken to others with similar claims.
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The woman who came forward with her own story, Merel Poots, said she decided to break her silence after an ex-Detroiter writing a book chronicling May’s alleged misdeeds accused him of “raping and sexually assaulting women since the 1980s” on social media. Poots did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment.
Michael James, the author of the forthcoming book, is a sports journalist and musician who has previously written for The Detroit News and New York Daily News. He began hinting at a pattern of harassment by the DJ late last year. He has also accused May of cheating him in past business dealings.
