Rape and Sexual Assault

Reshona Landfair says she's not going to let R. Kelly's sexual abuse define her life forever -- she was the 14-year-old girl who was seen in the infamous 2001 sex tape -- she's an adult now, out to reclaim her identity.

Reshona joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and we asked her how the sex tape affected her life ... and if she's thought about a difficult conversation that will inevitably come up with her young son.

She writes about the sexual abuse in a new memoir, "Who's Watching Shorty?: Reclaiming Myself from the Shame of R. Kelly’s Abuse," and tells us she wanted to reveal herself as the Jane Doe from the infamous video because she was tired of not owning her narrative.

5:57 PM PT -- David’s attorney Shawn Holley tells TMZ … “The book is far from closed.”

Sources familiar tell TMZ … David is pursuing all legal options.

David Del Rio did not come out on top in a reopened CBS investigation into his interactions with his former "Matlock" costar Leah Lewis ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell TMZ that the network did not change its earlier decision to fire Del Rio ... despite the actor presenting new evidence in an attempt to clear his name ... and the book has now been closed.

As TMZ first reported, David adamantly denied claims against him -- that he allegedly sexually assaulted Lewis on Paramount property in October. He hired powerhouse lawyer Shawn Holley to represent him, and the network reopened the investigation into the actor after he demanded they review additional details.

"Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star Demi Engemann is firing back in court at "Vanderpump Villa" star Marciano Brunette ... claiming Marciano's lawsuit alleging defamation over her sexual misconduct allegations is a "sham" that was only filed in an attempt to get even.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Demi is asking a judge to toss Marciano's lawsuit, which she claims was brought "solely to gain media attention" and "punish [Demi] for exercising her First Amendment right to speak out concerning [Marciano's] misconduct."

ICYMI ... Last year, Demi called Marciano a "sexual predator" and claimed he kissed her against her will ... but Marciano says the interaction was consensual, then later reframed as "sexual misconduct and then as sexual assault" to give Demi a storyline.

Jeffrey Epstein may have had a collection of highly poisonous plants known to produce a drug that blocks free will in its victims ... according to newly discovered emails in the last document dump of the Epstein Files.

In one of the uncovered messages, Epstein sends an email asking about his "trumpet plants at nursery."

For background ... Angel's Trumpet plants are extremely toxic and produce a drug called scopolamine, which is known to basically turn humans into zombies, wiping them of memory and eliminating their free will. Severe intoxication reportedly may even cause paralysis and death.

Even more alarming, scopolamine reportedly doesn't show up on toxicology reports.

Jeffrey Epstein was put on the hot seat during a 2010 deposition over his criminal conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution ... but the pedophile financier didn't have a clue who his victim was, and even asked a lawyer, "What minor?"

In the stunning clip, Epstein tells the lawyer deposing him that he didn't know the name of his underage victim, but pled guilty anyway in 2009 to soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He also pleaded guilty to another count of soliciting prostitution and was sentenced to 18 months in jail in Florida under a plea deal with prosecutors.

The 2010 deposition, released in the latest tranche of Epstein Files, opens with the lawyer repeatedly asking Epstein if any female he interacted with was a prostitute prior to meeting him. Epstein gives the same response each time, saying he pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution. He then falsely claims he never pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from an underage prostitute.

While most of the country was aghast at Anthony Weiner's relationship with a 15-year-old girl back in 2016, Woody Allen's wife, Soon-Yi Previn, seemed more disgusted with his victim ... according to an email exchange with Jeffrey Epstein.

In just-uncovered messages -- part of the millions of Epstein Files documents released by the Department of Justice -- Soon-Yi calls the minor "a despicable and disgusting person."

In one email, dated September 22, 2016, Soon-Yi writes ... "I know. It's an incredible story. You have to feel sorry for him. He can't seem to learn," referring to Weiner.

Then she takes a turn, going right at the underage female involved, writing ... "I also thought it was disgusting what the 15-year-old did to him."

She continued ... "I hate women who take advantage of guys and she is definitely one of them. She knew exactly what she was doing and how vulnerable Wiener was and she reeled him in like fish to bait."

Bill and Hillary Clinton are going to answer questions under oath about Jeffrey Epstein.

The Clintons agreed Monday to testify as part of the House Oversight Committee's investigation into Epstein, the convicted pedophile, who used to hang out with Bill.

Bill and Hillary had been fighting a subpoena from Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman on the House Oversight Committee, but they waved the white flag and agreed to testify only days before the House was expected to hold a vote on holding them in criminal contempt of Congress.

CBS has concluded its reopened "Matlock" investigation into the sexual assault report that got David Del Rio canned from the series ... and the actor is eager to know the outcome.

TMZ broke the news ... Del Rio was booted from the hit show last October, after the star had been accused of sexually assaulting actress Leah Lewis on Paramount property days earlier. Del Rio vehemently denied the allegations, hiring high-powered attorney Shawn Holley ... and CBS reopened its investigation in November and more parties were interviewed -- including David himself alongside Holley.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the investigation has concluded -- again -- but Del Rio feels the powers that be are dragging their feet after he claims to have submitted evidence that would clear his name. We hear he's instructed his team to request that CBS give them their findings, which we're told are expected by the end of this week.

Prince Andrew was stripped of his royal title over his creepy connection to Jeffrey Epstein -- and now we're getting an up-close and personal look at Andrew's strange interaction with a woman under his body.

Check out these photos of Andrew crouched over a fully clothed woman lying on a floor inside a room. In two photos, Andrew is staring down at the woman with his hand placed on her tummy. In another, he's leaning over the woman while staring directly into the camera. The woman's face is redacted, so we can't tell who she is or if she's in distress.

The 3 pics were released Friday by the Department of Justice as part of the latest rollout of Epstein files, with 3.5 million documents related to the late convicted pedophile becoming instantly available. Some of the world's biggest names surfaced in the new batch of docs, namely President Trump, Elon Musk and Bill Clinton -- although there are no proven incidents of wrongdoing. The British Royal Family was also mentioned.

Bombshell allegation in the latest Epstein Files document release ... an underage girl claims she was forced to perform oral sex on Donald Trump approximately 35 years ago in New Jersey.

The allegation is from a document in the files that describes a tip that was sent to the feds.

The complaint summary says the feds were told the underage girl was approximately 13-14 years old when the alleged incident occurred, and it says the alleged victim "allegedly bit President Trump while performing oral sex" and was "allegedly hit in the face after she laughed about biting President Trump."

Brooke Nevils -- a woman who accused Matt Lauer of raping her in a hotel room during the 2014 Winter Olympics -- has revisited the brutal experience she says left her broken.

After first reporting Matt in 2017, Brooke has now written a memoir, "Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame and the Stories We Choose to Believe," which details the initial assault and explains her consensual encounters that followed.

In an excerpt, published by The Cut, Brooke writes, "I have spent the long years since using my otherwise abandoned skills as a journalist to report and write the book about sexual harassment and assault that I wish had existed for me."

Bill Cosby admitted under oath he refilled a recreational prescription for quaaludes he got from a gynecologist at a poker game 7 times with the intention of giving the pills to women in hopes of having sex with them ... and he says he never downed a single pill himself.

The bombshell admission is part of a deposition Cosby gave in a lawsuit filed by one of his rape accusers, Donna Motsinger ... and parts of his testimony are included in new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Cosby said in the deposition, which is sealed, he was prescribed quaaludes by a freaking OBGYN, Dr. Leroy Amar, at a poker table. Talk about some shady business dealings!!!

The docs say Dr. Amar is a "disgraced" gynecologist who was Cosby's friend ... and the poker game where Cosby got the quaaludes prescription was hosted at Cosby's Los Angeles house prior to 1972, which is significant.

Here's how twisted Jeffrey Epstein was ... his birthday was little more than another reason to victimize young women, at least according to one of the Congressmen pushing for the release of Epstein photos and docs.

The late pedophile would have turned 73 on Tuesday, and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam -- a Democrat from Virginia who sits on the House Oversight Committee -- tells TMZ, Epstein's birthday is "probably a very difficult day for many women."

Subramanyam says that for a specific reason ... telling us, "It's clear from the evidence that Epstein used his birthday as an excuse to traffic and take advantage of girls."

The new allegation of sexual abuse against the embattled Timothy Busfield is from an alleged incident that happened a quarter century ago ... TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... prosecutors in New Mexico revealed Wednesday a new allegation against Timothy had come to light ... a man told cops his daughter was sexually abused by Timothy when she was 16 years old and auditioning for him at B Street Theatre in Sacramento, CA.

Timothy founded the theater back in the day, but the theater is distancing themselves from Timothy now ... and they tell us he hasn't been involved in the organization since 2001, when the alleged incident occurred.

Howard King, the attorney representing a family accusing Michael Jackson of abuse, spoke to TMZ after a dramatic day in court in their fight with Jackson's estate ... and he explained what caused the family's flip from ally to enemy.

Frank Cascio and his siblings reportedly settled for millions of dollars in 2020 with Jackson's estate amid allegations the late King of Pop sexually abused them as children. But in 2024, Frank alleged he signed the settlement under duress.

Today, the Cascio family was back in court with Jackson's estate, represented by attorney Marty Singer ... who claims the Cascios are trying to extort MJ's estate.

This presents a complete reversal from Frank's days as a staunch Jackson defender. So why the change of heart? King says years of therapy helped Frank stop drinking "the Michael Jackson Kool-Aid."

Superstar singer Julio Iglesias is in the crosshairs of prosecutors in Spain, where he's under investigation after two former female employees accused him of sexual assault.

The Spanish High Court prosecutor's office announced the probe Tuesday after Univision and Spanish media outlet elDiario.es published the women's allegations.

Julio's accusers reportedly claimed they suffered sexual assault and workplace harassment while working for him in 2021 at his homes in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas ... alleging Julio pressured them into sexual encounters and abused them physically and verbally.