British singer, Elton John, has been sued by his former personal security guard, Jeffrey Wenninger, for sexual harassment and battery in Southern California, according to court documents.
According to the civil lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Wenninger worked as a security guard for John until about September 2014.
``Unwelcome touching occurred on many occasions over several years since Wenninger began his employment as a personal security guard in 2002, and escalated in frequency and intensity after 2010.
``On three occasions in 2014, while riding in John's vehicle between the singer's homes in the Los Angeles area, John put his hand in Wenninger's pants, tried to grab his genitals.
``John also put his hand down Wenninger's shirt and twisted his nipples,’’ the lawsuit said.
It added that John also made offensive, sexually suggestive comments, such as ``Say Hello to Uncle Elton.’’
``Wenninger tried to verbally and physically resist but John continued the same behaviour,’’ the suit said.
However, John’s attorney, Orin Snyder said, ``the lawsuit was brought by a disgruntled former security officer seeking to extract an undeserved payment.
``These claims are patently untrue and contradicted by numerous previous statements made by this plaintiff’’.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for physical, mental and emotional distress as well as loss of wages. (Reuters/NAN)