EDM star Paul Oakenfold was sued for sexual harassment by one of his former assistants who claims he repeatedly masturbated in front of her.
The former assistant, identified only in court documents as Jane Roe, 24, filed the sexual harassment claim in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, alleging that the British DJ exposed herself to her on four separate dates from October to November 2022.
She also claims that when she reported the behavior to the management company she worked for, she was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement and her hours were significantly reduced until she was finally fired in March 2023.
The personal assistant says CEO Paul Stepanek’s two companies — New Frequency Management and Stepanek Management — violated her labor rights.
Roe is seeking damages in excess of $25,000.
Paul Oakenfold, 59, has been sued by a former personal assistant who claims he repeatedly masturbated in front of her
Oakenfold also reportedly began expressing anger towards his personal assistant, and she began to worry about ‘physical escalation’ of the sexual harassment
According to the lawsuit, Roe took a job with the management companies in October 2022 and was immediately hired as Oakenfold’s personal assistant at a rate of $20 per hour.
She worked from the home of the 59-year-old Grammy-nominated DJ who remixed artists such as U2, Madonna, Britney Spears and the Rolling Stones.
But from day one, she claims, Oakenfold exposed and masturbated in front of her.
He would do it three more times over the next two months, including once in November 2022 when he reportedly masturbated to her four times in just one day.
In another instance, the personal assistant alleges, he performed the act in her vehicle as she drove him home from the post office.
“Specifically, Oakenfold sat in the passenger seat, spread his legs wide, and began masturbating with plaintiff just inches away while plaintiff drove Oakenfold home from the post office,” the lawsuit alleged.
“Plaintiff froze in fear and fright while he was so close to Oakenfold.”
From there, the lawsuit asserted, “The incidents of masturbation by Oakenfold increased in length and intensity each successive time Oakenfold cornered Plaintiff and masturbated in Plaintiff’s immediate presence.”
Oakenfold also reportedly began expressing anger towards his personal assistant “which Plaintiff had not previously experienced from Oakenfold, even when Plaintiff had to endure the earlier sexual harassment.
“On that date, on or about November 21, 2022, Plaintiff began to fear not only continued sexual harassment, but that Plaintiff would suffer physical escalation of the sexual harassment or other repercussions if Plaintiff were forced to continue working for Oakenfold,” the lawsuit says.
At that point, it says, Roe decided to report the sexual harassment.
But before she did, the lawsuit alleges, “Stepanek, the defendant’s CEO, bragged about his insurance policies to protect him from being prosecuted for Oakenfold or “guilty by association.”
The assistant claims she reported the harassment to Paul Stepanek’s management office, which forced her to sign a non-disclosure agreement
“Based on information and belief,” the lawsuit alleges, “defendants had previously assigned several other assistants to Oakenfold and there was likely a high turnover due to rampant sexual harassment.”
When she reported the alleged sexual harassment, Roe claimed that Stepanek presented her with a non-disclosure agreement and prevented her from returning to work if she did not sign it.
Eventually, the suit says, Roe signed the NDA “under duress” and was allowed to return to work.
She was no longer assigned to be Oakenfold’s personal assistant, but Roe claims her hours were cut and she was fired in March for “lack of work.”
She now continues to suffer loss of earnings and benefits, the lawsuit alleges, and “suffered humiliation, emotional distress, pain and anguish, all to plaintiff’s damages in an amount according to evidence at the time of trial.”
DailyMail.com has contacted a representative from Oakenfold’s and Stepanek’s management firms for comment.