International news_ 14th June 2005
Acid House Pioneer Cleared Of Rape
Bomb The Bass producer Tim Simenon wept in a London court this week after he was found not guilty of raping a 27 year old trainee music teacher he met on a night out clubbing last year.
The acid house pioneer met his accuser through mutual friends in an Upper Street bar and went clubbing with her before returning to his house together, where she'd previously arranged to stay. Speaking from behind a screen, the woman admitted she'd drank wine, beer and vodka during the evening as well as using cocaine, and told the court he'd raped her as she slept in a sleeping bag on his bedroom floor.
Simenon, however, said the sex had been consensual but she'd stormed off after he'd mentioned his long-term girlfriend. He was unanimously acquitted after rthe jury retired for just three minutes.
"During the past year I've been feeling extreme suffocation in terms of it being a horrific allegation against me. It has been hell, it has drained me mentally and physically- like an emotional rollercoaster, he told the Standard. "When I heard the not guilty verdict I collapsed in tears of relief."
The 37 year old producer was one of the original stars of acid house, releasing Beat Dis in 1988, which reached number 2 in Britain's pop charts before going on to produce albums for Bjork, Neneh Cherry, Massive Attack and Depeche Mode. Unusually mild mannered and polite, he was also hugely popular with many of the stars he collaborated with such as Curve singer Toni Halliday who worked with him on her album Come Clean in 1998.
"Tim's not a musician, he's not a programmer, he's a DJ. So his angle was, 'Are the beats right?' she told Raydar magazine some years ago. "He's a gardener. And he's a lovely man, it's a great vibe to have in the studio."(Jonty Skrufff (Skrufff.com)
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