Music exec faces shocking rape allegations as two glamorous local artists claim he drugged them in his stunning $6.5M Joshua Tree mansion
A music executive is facing rape allegations after two women claimed he drugged them inside his lavish $6.55 million Joshua Tree mansion in California.
Scott Leonard, 59, who touts himself as a former artist manager and major-label record executive, owns the unique cliffside Kellogg Doolittle home nestled in the mountains, where he often hosts celebrity-filled parties, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Model and writer Courtney Barriger, 36, and Australian musician Jamie-Lee Dimes, 35, both shared painful memories of being inside his home, where they allege Leonard slipped them drugs.
Both women reported the alleged incidents to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, and Leonard has not been charged in either case, according to the Times.
'This has been one of the worst times in my life. If this is what I have to tolerate to have a career in music, I would rather speak up,' Dimes said in an interview with the outlet.
'I stand for raising awareness of abuse in the music industry,' she told DailyMail.com.
Scott Leonard, 59, a former artist manager and major-label record executive, owns the unique cliffside Kellogg Doolittle home. Courtney Barriger, 36, and Jamie-Lee Dimes, 35, allege that he drugged them there
Dimes filed a police report to the sheriff's office and detailed her alleged rape by Leonard, which she said occurred after meeting him in August 2022.
In the report, she explained how she was introduced to Leonard, who says he worked in artist development at Virgin Records America, through mutual friends. He soon invited her to his home to talk about her musical career.
'The fact that I met him in Joshua Tree, where it’s very community based, and not L.A., made me feel like I could trust him,' she said.
Dimes came to Leonard's home and played a couple of songs for him before he 'slapped me on the a** a few times' and 'asked me who the oldest person I'd ever had sex with was,' according to the report.
'I found it uncomfortable and tried to change the subject.' she said.
'I was very clear from the moment I met Scott that there was no way I would ever have sex with him.'
She said she began to feel 'under the influence of this heavy tranquilizer' about an hour later.
Leonard then brought Dimes to a bedroom, where she recalled him 'behind me and on top of me,' the report said.
She added that his 'hands were in my vagina' before 'he was on top of me, penetrating me with what is believed to be his penis, but it is foggy.'
Dimes continued: 'I do not remember how I got there but my clothes were on the floor when I woke up.
'He was naked beside me, which freaked me out because there was no way I consented. ... I saw blood all around my thighs, my menstrual cup was shoved up my cervix. I couldn’t walk and I was screaming.'
The following morning, Dimes woke up with 'bruises on my wrist...shoulder, stomach and lower abdominals, thighs and a damaged toe,' she said in the report.
In August 2022, Dimes filed a police report to the sheriff's office and detailed her alleged sexual assault experience with Leonard
According to the report, Dimes said Leonard told her: 'You have to go now, do not talk to any of the workers when you leave, you’re really f— up.'
Still disorientated, she drove home as she had to catch a flight home to Australia. Days later Dimes told police in the Gold Coast about what happened, the report said.
In December, investigators in Australia sent her clothing from that night to San Bernardino. The clothing and swabs of DNA were put in an evidence locker, the Times reported.
'I am so severely traumatized I haven’t been able to function,' she told police.
'I honestly feel like my entire life has been flipped upside down because of this man taking advantage of me, sexually assaulting me … and thinking I won’t say anything because of his business and music connections.'
Barriger, an author and the creator of Eco Fashion Label, said she had known Leonard and his partner, Keiko Harada, for about seven years. Barriger, who later moved with her then-partner into an airstream travel trailer just across from Leonard's home, was initially introduced to him 'as someone with a lot of clout,' she told the Times.
In November 2021, Leonard and Harada invited the couple to their home for a gathering.
'He had this house but always played it cool,' Barriger recalled.
'He would say things like "Can I see your paintings? Do you need a business mentor?" ' she added.
According to her police report, when Barriger visited the home by herself, she was left feeling uneasy after speaking to Leonard.
'Leonard said something to the effect of "humankind would not have evolved if rape wasn’t an aspect of it",' she said in the report.
As the three drank late into the night, Leonard soon invited her to stay in one of his guest rooms.
About 2.30am, Barriger said Leonard made a pineapple-flavored cocktail for her and Harada.
Soon after both women sipped their drinks, Barriger said she started to feel like she was hallucinating and saw that Harada's eyes 'were dilated.'
'Victim 1 walked to a mirror and looked into her own eyes and saw they were also dilated. Victim 1 confronted Leonard about drugging her, and Leonard denied all allegations,' the report said.
Harada soon fell asleep, when 'Leonard walked Victim 1 to the room he offered her to sleep in and tried to seduce her,' the report said.
Barriger then attempted 'to leave the situation,' but 'Leonard pulled' her 'back down to the bed by her pant loops and tried to kiss Victim 1,' according to the report.
Barriger recalled getting 'that shark-in-the-water feeling' around Leonard, who she described as 'dangerous and very aggressive,' she said in an interview.
On November 11, 2021, Leonard and Harada invited her and her then-partner to their home for a gathering. Barriger recalled getting 'that shark-in-the-water feeling' around Leonard, who she described as 'dangerous and very aggressive'
'I'm drunk and can't drive home. I just went super stiff, like "How do I just make this stop as fast as possible and get out of there?" '
After telling Leonard to stop, he eventually left, according to the report.
The following day, Barriger visited 'High Desert Medical Center to get teste for MDMA,' but she was soon told by staff that 'she would have to file a police report before she could be treated,' the Times reported.
At the time, Barriger said 'she was not ready to file a report.'
'I didn't know what to do and I was scared. There were two different versions of what to do then. I was like "Is he as bad as I think he is? Or am I overreacting?",' she told the outlet.
The report specified that Barriger 'was not raped by Leonard,' but she 'felt that she was incapacitated by the drugs and physically unable to leave Leonard's residence.'
Following the encounter, Barriger sent pictures of her dilated eyes to close friends and family, the Times reported.
Her sister told the Times that Barriger called her at 7am and said that Leonard allegedly 'attempted to assault her and that she felt drugged and didn't know how to leave the property.'
Barriger did not file a police report right after the alleged incident, but did later.
'I thought I did my due diligence. But it’s contributed to a lot of loss in my life,' she told the Times.
Last year, after Dimes returned to Joshua Tree, she ran into Barringer's then-partner at a local store.
It was then that she learned that they both filed reports against Leonard, but after reaching out to the police department on the progress of their cases, the department informed them they didn't have the statements.
In Aril 2023, the San Bernardino County Sheriff‘s Department experienced a cyberattack that restricted them from accessing police reports submitted from April 2019 to April 2023, the Times reported.
Last year, after Dimes returned to Joshua Tree, she ran into Barringer's then-partner at a local store and learned that they both filed reports against Leonard. (pictured: stock image of Joshua Tree, California)
According to the outlet, the county paid $1.1million to a Russian-involved hacker group to retrieve the data.
A spokeswoman with the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department told DailyMail.com: 'The network disruption we experienced last year has not affected the ability to investigate these incidents, nor does it impact the ability to pursue them criminally.
'Both victims were provided with a copy of their report. The investigation is ongoing and no additional information is being released at this time.'
Their attorney, Christine Pelosi, the daughter of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been tirelessly fighting for her clients.
'We've been stuck on this for a long time. We need some sort of justice,' Pelosi said.
DailyMail.com contacted Leonard, Harada and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for comment.
This is not the only legal drama Leonard has been caught up in, as he is currently facing seven criminal counts in Los Angeles over a 2022 incident involving a fire at a recording studio in Hollywood that he owned, the Times reported.
Nathan Edwards, 26, was killed in the blaze and musician Ozzy Osbourne's daughter, Aimee, who was recording there at the time, was injured.
