Rapper Riff Raff Accused of Having Sex With High Schooler

Once a popular Vine star–“a type of human meme,” as Rolling Stone as soon as put it– Houston rap artist Riff Raff was trending on a various video app today.

In tense, 60-second videos on TikTok, university student Alyssa Regalbuto administered stories from the 4 years she states she dated the recording artist. The five-part “story time” account was definitely uncomplimentary: Regalbuto made it clear to her audiences that she felt deceived and utilized by Riff Raff.

But the remarks that streamed in exposed that a number of those viewing had actually zeroed in on a more troubling element of the relationship: Regalbuto was simply 17 and still in high school when she states that she initially talked to the hip-hop star, who was practically two times her age.

It was not the very first time the 37-year-old EDM, trap and hip-hop star had actually been implicated of pursuing ladies under the age of 18. A minimum of another female has actually implicated Riff Raff of making undesirable bear down her as a teen, and 2 others have actually implicated him of rape . Regalbuto’s videos brought the concern to the surface area when again.

“I primarily published my one video simply to get things off my chest … however it exploded over night,” Regalbuto informed The Daily Beast.

“When you hear other women stating the very same story, it’s unfortunate however it’s likewise easing, due to the fact that it’s great to feel that you’re not alone in a circumstance like this,” she included.

In a declaration, Riff Raff’s legal representative stated he “unconditionally rejects these unwarranted accusations of a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old.” The artist, whose genuine name is Horst Simco, has actually formerly rejected all other claims of sexual misbehavior.

Regalbuto states she hardly understood who Riff Raff was the day he approached her at the Warped Tour in 2015. She states, she was attempting to slip a peek of her preferred band, Sleeping with Sirens, when she observed the rap artist sizing her up. He ultimately sent her his number through Twitter, and the 2 injury up investing the remainder of the day on his bus.

Her buddy, Alex Accorsi, informed The Daily Beast she remembered Regalbuto messaging with the artist that day at the Warped Tour, and kept in mind dropping her off at his trip bus. She states it was hours later on that Regalbuto went back to the group and reported that she and Riff Raff had actually simply hung out.

Regalbuto states she informed Riff Raff she was a teen, though her phony ID noted her as 23.

“It was on my Instagram bio, it was on my Twitter bio– it was really apparent that I was 17,” she stated. “I imply, I was actually in high school still!”

According to her account, the rap artist informed her it didn’t matter. He wished to see her once again.

That’s how the Philadelphia native discovered herself in New Jersey later on that summertime, conference Riff Raff at another Warped Tour look. Weeks after that, she states, he used to fly her out to Las Vegas. Delighted and more than a little shocked by the attention, she concurred. She informed her moms and dads she was going to the Jersey Shore for the weekend, and gotten on an airplane.

Accorsi informed The Daily Beast she keeps in mind Regalbuto speaking about the New Jersey trip stop and the journey to Las Vegas. Another pal, Rachel Hess, stated she got a FaceTime call from Regalbuto and Riff Raff the day she showed up in Nevada.

“I keep in mind initially I resembled, ‘That’s so cool.’ After a while I was like, ‘Well he’s this old and she’s this old … That’s not regular,'” Hess stated.

“I got truly fretted after a while; I would text her all the time like, ‘Let me understand if you’re OKAY,”‘she included.

It was at the New Jersey trip stop that Regalbuto states she and Riff Raff initially made love. (The age of approval in New Jersey and Nevada is 16, and Regalbuto is not implicating Riff Raff of criminal misbehavior.) She states she didn’t have much sexual experience at the time, however was swayed by his compliments and guarantees that she was the only lady in his life– declarations she now describes as a “consistent control.” When she came back, both Accorsi and Hess remember her going over the sexual encounter.

“It was actually scary,” Regalbuto stated. “It was consensual, however when I reflect on it, I want I didn’t grant it, since I was more groomed into believing it was OKAY.”

“I didn’t understand much better,” she included. “I wasn’t believing that method. It’s simple to groom somebody at a young age. And after that particularly when you have that sort of platform on you– it’s sure-fire, to do it to a girl.””

Last year, a 2nd female implicated Riff Raff of making undesirable sexual bear down her at the exact same 2015 Warped Tour, less than a month after Regabulto states she satisfied the rap artist. That lady, Milwaukee native Kelsey Doucette, was likewise 17 at the time.

Doucette informed Jezebel that Riff Raff approached her at a meet-and-greet and used her his number. Later on, she states, a member of his team welcomed her into the trip bus, where Riff Raff took her into a back space and started to kiss her and search her, regardless of her protestations.

“I was truly gone nuts at the time,” Doucette informed Jezebel at the time. “When I was 17 I never ever truly heard stories about rape or whatever however I would constantly hear stories of like, oh my god, this lady got with this DJ or this lady got with this well-known artist or whatever which was so cool. And I believed oh god, this is not cool today, this is really odd. This is something I do not wish to remain in, I do not understand why individuals discuss these things being so excellent. I was really frightened.”

Doucette’s claims followed allegations from a female in Australia , who declared the rap artist had actually drugged and raped her after a show in 2013.

Eliza Stafford, who was 19 at the time, stated in a Facebook post that she was welcomed backstage throughout among Riff Raff’s programs. When she got here, she states, somebody in the rap artist’s entourage used her a shot that triggered her to black out. She declares that she woke up to Riff Raff “taking out of me and entering into the shower.”

Riff Raff rejected these claims in clips from a brief movie he called “Trial by Media,” in which he appears in pilot sunglasses and a stetson and extols his sexual exploits, while rejecting all claims of impropriety.

“Never as soon as have I required a woman to make love,” he states in the video. “Never when have I required a woman to do any kind of drugs. I put on'&#x 27; t wan na have a woman drowsy and intoxicated.”

In 2014, another female declared the rap artist sexually attacked her. The lady– described in court files as “Jane Doe”– declares Riff Raff took loan she had actually made operating at the Bunny Ranch whorehouse and declined to offer it back unless she slept with him, according to court filings gotten by Pitchfork .

Local cops eventually closed their criminal examination into the female’s problems without bringing charges, mentioning an absence of proof, conflicting witness testament, and the accuser’s “ever-changing and astounding accounts.” The civil match she submitted in Nevada district court, nevertheless, is still pending.

In court filings, Riff Raff’s legal group stated the artist was “being targeted due to the fact that [Jane Doe] thinks him to be a rich public figure.” In a declaration to The Daily Beast, his lawyer indicated a cops interview with a witness who rejected anything unfortunate occurred that night.

“Mr. Simco and his agents take accusations of sexual misbehavior really seriously,” the lawyer, Rob Garson, stated. “The complainant’s incorrect claims in this case are regrettable and unjustly decrease the capability of real victims to report criminal activities and pursue meritorious claims versus real opponents.”

Unlike the other accusers, Regalbuto remained close with Riff Raff long after their preliminary encounter. She states she met him routinely on his “Peach Panther” album trip around the East Coast in 2016, attending his shows in Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. She supplied The Daily Beast with text and screenshots of her discussions with the rap artist going back to 2016.

For 4 years, she states, Riff Raff attracted her with pledges of romantic dates and long lasting love, even while parading around with other females or neglecting her at programs. Recalling, she believes her young age added to how quickly she purchased the lies.

“When I was rewatching my videos I was believing to myself, ‘It was so apparent that I was not the only one,'” stated stated. “But from the start, I always remembered about what he stated to me at those Warped Tours [in 2015]”

Now a senior in college intending to pursue a profession in global law, Regalbuto states she comprehends that the relationship experienced a serious imbalance of power. She states she last talked to the rap artist 2 months back, when she remained in Florida and he provided to Uber her to his home. She turned him down.

Regalbuto states she spoke up on Tik Tok in order to assist other females prevent making her very same errors.

“I’m grateful that I had the ability to proceed from it and be much better from it and grow from it,” she stated. “Some individuals remain in these type of circumstances and they’re stuck in it and it’s tough for them to go out. I simply do not desire it to occur to anybody else.”