Cee Lo Green Charged: 'The Voice' Judge Pleads Guilty to Giving Woman Ecstasy, Rape Charges Dropped
On Monday, singer and "The Voice" judge CeeLo Green pleaded guilty to giving a woman ecstasy in 2012. Prosecutors decided against filing rape charges due to lack of evidence.
Green, who was born Thomas DeCarlo Callaway, is accused of giving a woman ecstasy during dinner in a Los Angeles restaurant. In July of 2012, Green allegedly slipped the drug to a 33-year-old woman before going to a hotel with her. Prosecutors charged Green with one felony count of furnishing a controlled substance. He faces up to four years in prison.
Green, 38, came to court four hours after the charges were made. He spoke one time during the arraignment acknowledging that he understood. Afterwards, he sat in the front of the courtroom with his girlfriend awaiting a bondsman to post his bail for $30,000.
According to CNN, when a reporter asked the former Gnarls Barkley singer if he was relieved, Green responded with an approving nod. When asked if he was scared, the singer responded with "No."
A statement written by Blair Berk, Green's attorney, says that Green is happy the rape charges were dismissed.
"Mr. Green encouraged a full and complete investigation of those claims, and he was confident once conducted, he would be cleared of having any wrongful intent and it would be established that any relations were consensual," Berk wrote. "Cee Lo had faith that if the true facts were known, the district attorney would reject those charges."
According to KTLA, a Los Angeles Police Department statement claimed Green sexually assaulted the woman in the Luxe Hotel after dinner. The Los Angeles Times reported that the woman said she woke up without clothes with Green in the room.
NBC has yet to comment as to whether Green will return as a judge on the fifth season of its singing competition show, "The Voice."
Green is due back in court on Nov. 20.