Report: Nevada Assembly candidate, brothel owner Hof accused of raping prostitute in 2005

Brothel owner and Nevada Assembly candidate Dennis Hof was accused of raping a prostitute at one of his brothels in 2005, according to a newly released Lyon County Sheriff’s Department report.

The Review-Journal’s request for the report in April was denied by Lyon County District Attorney Stephen Rye, who cited an obligation to protect the victim’s identity. But the newspaper’s attorney, Maggie McLetchie, fought for a redacted copy — as required by Nevada’s public records law — prompting authorities to release the report last week.

The case wasn’t prosecuted, but the woman’s account is the latest in a string of allegations against Hof, who defeated incumbent Assemblyman James Oscarson earlier this month to win the GOP nomination for Nevada’s Assembly District 36. Two ex-prostitutes in April detailed sexual assault claims from 2009 and 2011 that they allege took place at Hof’s Love Ranch in Crystal and the Bunny Ranch in Carson City.

Hof, who adamantly denied assaulting anyone, did not face charges in either case because of a lack of evidence. Nye County prosecutors said the statute of limitations had expired. Hof did not respond to requests for comment.

In the Lyon County report, an unidentified prostitute claims that in December 2005 Hof and another sex worker, Christine Metzger, entered her room at the Bunny Ranch II in Mound House while she slept. The woman claims they woke her up to have sex before Hof asked Metzger to leave the room.

“Dennis pulls me close to him, opens my legs, and I pulled my legs together, said ‘no,’ and made excuses to try to leave or make him leave,” the woman wrote in her statement. When she tried to leave, she said Hof grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

After several attempts to stop Hof by making excuses, the woman said she “gave in,” according to the report. After it was over, she said she “acted like it was all okay… something I’m used to when I have a pimp.” She eventually left the brothel and never returned, according to her statement.

The alleged assault happened in 2005, but the woman reported it two years later by walking into a sheriff’s substation. The deputy questioned why the woman waited two years to report the incident. She said that “she was tired of being hurt,” that she was “out of the lifestyle,” and that she was receiving therapy and wanted to stand up for herself.

But Metzger, who also left the Bunny Ranch II, defended Hof and denied the sexual encounter ever happened. She told the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office that she “never saw any girl get sexually assaulted” and that she met Hof once and he “appeared to be a nice guy.” Hof also denied any wrongdoing in an interview with law enforcement.

Multiple attempts to reach Metzger, who moved to Colorado, were unsuccessful. The alleged victim said Metzger lied when she said she did not witness anything.

Because there was no physical evidence and both Hof and Metzger denied the sexual encounter took place, Lyon County authorities closed the case.

At Hof’s request, a woman named Suzette Cole, who goes by “Madam Suzette” and is a manager at the Bunny Ranch brothel, issued a statement reiterating the facts from the sheriff’s report and said Hof denies any wrongdoing.

“Based on the limited information we’ve received, this is a complaint about an alleged incident that occurred well over a decade ago which wasn’t reported by the accuser until well over a year after the alleged incident,” Cole said.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at rgiwargis@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4538. Follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.