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Ray J pleads not guilty to sexual battery, vandalism charges

Singer Ray J has pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges stemming from a May 30 altercation.
(Neilson Barnard / Getty Images for BMI)
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R&B singer Ray J pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a slew of charges stemming from an alleged sexual-battery incident in May.

The “Sexy Can I” crooner, 33, whose real name is Willie Ray Norwood Jr., has been charged with four misdemeanor counts of sexual battery, vandalism, battery on a police officer and resisting/delaying a peace officer, according to the Los Angeles district attorney’s office.

The singer and reality-TV personality did not appear in court, instead entering his plea through his attorney.

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Ray J, who costarred in Kim Kardashian’s infamous sex tape and has milked that fame for years, was arrested on May 30 after he allegedly groped a woman at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel bar. Prosecutors said the singer refused to leave the establishment and, when he was finally in custody, broke a patrol car window and spat on an officer.

TMZ previously reported that the singer was at the hotel’s Sidebar when he got into a fight, was ousted from the bar, and the cops were called. The sexual-battery allegation changed from him grabbing a woman’s backside to him grabbing her breast, the site said, citing witnesses.

The Beverly Hills Police Department is still investigating the incident.

Ray J is due at Los Angeles Superior Court’s Airport Branch on Aug. 28 for a pre-trial hearing.

If convicted of all counts, he could face a maximum sentence of four years in county jail, the D.A. said.

Ray J is the brother of R&B songstress Brandy Norwood. In 2010, the pair costarred on the VH1 reality series “Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business” after Ray J appeared in a dating series for the network called “For the Love of Ray J.”

For the love of celebrities, follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.

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