The-Dream has been charged with assault.
The 36-year-old producer surrendered to police yesterday (07.05.14) as he was wanted for questioning over an alleged attack on his former girlfriend Lydia Nam – who was eight months pregnant with their son at the time – two years ago.
He was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court and charged with assault, strangulation, harassment and reckless endangerment but was allowed to leave after posting $20,000 bail.
After leaving court, The-Dream – whose real name is Terius Nash – said: "I have nothing to say. It’ll all come out. There are worse things in the world going on".
An attorney acting for the star, who wrote hits such as Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby’ and Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’, told the judge his client was innocent and the accusations – which were not reported until November 2013 – stemmed from civil litigation and child support disputes.
However, police said the alleged victim didn’t report the attack until so long afterwards because she was in fear of her life.
According to the criminal complaint, the songwriter "punched and choked" his then-girlfriend at New York’s Plaza Hotel in April 2012 and threatened to kill her "like O.J. Simpson killed Nicole Brown."
The complaint further detailed that the producer allegedly pulled and dragged Lydia by the hair, twisted her necklace tightly around her neck to choke her, kicked and punched her in the head and grabbed her by the neck, pinning her to the wall and choking her again.
It was previously claimed friends of The-Dream – who also has a four-year-old daughter, Violet, with ex-wife Christina Milian and three other children with first wife Nivea – believe Canadian Lydia is a "vengeful woman" who has made the claims in order to extend her US visa.
According to law enforcement insiders, the 36-year-old musician was arrested last June in California following another alleged domestic violence incident against Lydia.
However, she refused to press charges so the case was rejected by the District Attorney.
The-Dream charged with assault
