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Singer Celine Dion and husband-manager Rene Angelil are shown in this January 2000 photo. AP Photo

Thursday, March 21, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Lawsuit alleges Dion's husband raped woman at LV hotel

Police say 2000 incident was not reported

Celine Dion's husband was sued last week in Las Vegas by a woman who claims he raped her two years ago at the Imperial Palace.

Yun Kyeong Sung Kwon, described in the lawsuit as a Los Angeles resident and an ordained minister of the Full Gospel World Church, and her husband filed the complaint against Rene Angelil shortly before 5 p.m. Friday.

Los Angeles attorney Marty Singer, who represents Angelil, read the lawsuit Wednesday and called it "just pure fabrication."

"This is not even the claim they made two years ago," the attorney said.

Singer said the case began as a claim of fondling. "It was definitively not a claim of rape," he said.

Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Coliseum, described as Angelil's business entity, and the Imperial Palace.

According to the lawsuit, the Kwons entered into a settlement agreement with Coliseum in June 2000.

"Defendant Coliseum represented and promised that defendant Angelil would apologize for his actions and would provide proof that he was not infected with HIV or hepatitis," the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit seeks to set aside the settlement agreement.

It claims the Kwons were acting under "severe mental duress" when they entered into the agreement. It also claims they were "fraudulently induced" to accept the settlement.

"Mrs. Kwon and Mr. Kwon never received the promised apology and medical proof," the lawsuit alleges.

When the Kwons' claim first surfaced, Singer said, Angelil was battling throat cancer and Dion was undergoing fertility treatments. Rather than fight the claim, the attorney said, the couple decided to enter into a confidential settlement.

"The claim was totally dubious and false at the time," Singer said.

Dion and Angelil, her manager, now have a 1-year-old son. The couple were in Europe on Wednesday promoting Dion's latest album, "A New Day Has Come."

The Canadian singer, best known for "My Heart Will Go On" from the film "Titanic," starts a three-year, 600-show engagement at Caesars Palace in March 2003.

According to the recent lawsuit, Kwon was a guest at the Imperial Palace on March 18, 2000, when she left the hotel and went to Caesars Palace.

Kwon was playing video poker around 11 p.m. at Caesars Palace when Angelil, accompanied by his bodyguard, walked by and winked at her, the complaint alleges.

Around 1 a.m., according to the lawsuit, Angelil and his bodyguard approached Kwon. Kwon was introduced to Angelil, and the two had a brief conversation.

As Kwon was leaving Caesars Palace about an hour later, according to the lawsuit, Angelil approached her and told her that he would like to give her tickets to a concert. Kwon thanked Angelil and gave him her cellular phone number.

The lawsuit claims Angelil followed Kwon as she crossed the street to return to the Imperial Palace.

When Kwon entered the hotel, "she was shocked to see no security guard at the desk," according to the document.

The lawsuit claims Angelil continued to follow Kwon as she entered an elevator. In the elevator, according to the complaint, Angelil began fondling the woman.

Kwon tried to escape to her room, according to the complaint, but Angelil pushed his way in and locked the door.

"In a quick, vicious and violent manner, defendant Angelil sexually forced himself upon plaintiff Mrs. Kwon as he fended off her attempts to protect herself," the lawsuit alleges.

As soon as Kwon could, according to the document, she called the hotel operator. Two security officers arrived at her door, the lawsuit alleges, but Angelil already had left.

Lt. Tom Monahan, commander of the Metropolitan Police Department's sex crimes unit from 1997 until four months ago, said no such incident was reported to police.

The lawsuit's claims against Angelil include assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment.

It accuses the Imperial Palace of negligence and seeks unspecified damages from all the defendants.

Ed Crispell, Imperial Palace's general manager, did not respond to numerous messages left at his office this week.

Kwon and her husband, Ae, are represented by Las Vegas attorney Joseph Hong, who declined to comment on the case when contacted at his office on Monday.