NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) The Metropolitan Opera of New York says in court documents it has found credible evidence that its longtime conductor, James Levine, engaged in sexually abuse or harassing behavior over a 25-year period.
Levine was fired by the Met March 12. The Met cited evidence of misconduct but did not give any details. In court documents, the Met claims Levine abused or harassed seven people including by inappropriate touching and demands for sex acts. It is seeking $5.86 million in damages for what it called breach of loyalty, according to the Associated Press.
Levine was suspended Dec. 3 after allegations of misconduct were reported in the New York Times and New York Post.
The Met claims during its investigation it learned of improper conduct by Levine from 1975 to 2000. It identified the individuals only by number but described them as a musician, an opera singer, an artist, two people under the age of 16 and a member of its Young Artists Program, according to the AP. It said it found evidence of misconduct that included discussion of pornography, groping, kissing and mutual masturbation, and that in 1986 Levine sexually abused a 16-year-old and arranged an estimated $50,000 in payments to the alleged victim through his brother.
