Tommy Lee accused of sexually assaulting woman in helicopter, lawsuit says

The lawsuit is the latest against Lee, who was famously sentenced to six months in Los Angeles County jail in 1998 for beating his then-wife, actor Pamela Anderson. Photo: TNS

Motley Cree drummer Tommy Lee has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman during a helicopter ride to Los Angeles in 2003, according to a new lawsuit.

In a complaint filed Friday (Dec 15) in Los Angeles and obtained by Rolling Stone, a woman identified only as Jane Doe accused Lee of assault after she was "lured" by Lee's pilot. The lawsuit accuses the rock star of "forcibly groping, kissing and penetrating her with his fingers, and attempting to force her to perform oral copulation" during the 2003 trip, according to Rolling Stone.

The woman said she met the pilot, David Martz, in 2002 at a San Diego bank, where she worked as a teller. Martz invited her to ride in his helicopter, according to Rolling Stone, and she eventually met him for what she believed would be a trip around San Diego County. Instead, the lawsuit claims, the pilot took her on a ride with Lee to LA.

"Within a matter of minutes of being airborne, Martz pulled out alcohol he had stored in the helicopter and began to mix drinks," the complaint says, according to Rolling Stone. Martz and Lee allegedly drank, snorted cocaine and smoked marijuana during the flight, Jane Doe claims in the suit.

In the filing, the woman alleges that Lee forced himself on her and sexually assaulted her while the pilot "merely watched."

Mayhem Touring, Tommy Lee Inc., A Natural High Helicopters and Social Helicopters are named as defendants in the suit, which seeks damages for "sexual assault, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence."

Neither the plaintiff's attorneys nor Lee's representatives immediately responded to requests for comment.

Martz died in 2015. He had lost his pilot's license three times over the years – the latest revocation occurred in 2009 after he had oral sex with an adult film actress while flying a helicopter. At the time of his death, he was facing a fourth revocation proceeding on allegations that he falsified his FAA medical certificate related to two drunk driving convictions in 2013 and 2014. He surrendered the document during the agency's investigation.

The lawsuit is the latest against Lee, who was famously sentenced to six months in Los Angeles County jail in 1998 for beating his then-wife, actor Pamela Anderson, while she was holding their two-year-old son. Lee had pleaded no contest to a felony charge of spousal battery in that case. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service