LOS ANGELES, United States, May 16, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Motown legend Smokey Robinson is under criminal investigation, law enforcement in Los Angeles said Thursday, just days after he was sued by four former housekeepers who allege the soul singer repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted them.

"The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Special Victims Bureau is actively investigating criminal allegations involving William Robinson AKA 'Smokey Robinson,'" said a statement sent to AFP.

"The investigation is in the early stages, and we have no further comment," it added.

The development comes after a multimillion dollar lawsuit was filed in a Los Angeles court claiming the 85-year-old forced himself on female employees multiple times over a number of years, often when his wife was not at home.

The sheriff's department would not confirm the substance of their investigation, but lawyers for the women in the suit told AFP their clients were cooperating with the probe.

"We are pleased to learn that the LA County Sheriff's Dept has opened a criminal investigation into our clients' claims of sexual assault against Smokey Robinson," John Harris and Herbert Hayden told AFP in a joint statement.

"Our clients intend to fully cooperate with LASD's ongoing investigation in the pursuit of seeking justice for themselves and others that may have been similarly assaulted by him."

In the suit filed this month, one plaintiff alleges the "Tracks of My Tears" singer would summon her to his bedroom in his Los Angeles area home, and greet her wearing only his underwear.

He would then sexually assault her, despite her protestations, with the suit claiming there were seven such attacks between March 2023 and when she felt compelled to resign in February 2024.

Another former housekeeper alleges Robinson assaulted her more than 20 times over a four-year period, while a third says in the suit that she was "sexually harassed, sexually assaulted and raped" throughout her 12-year employment until 2024.

The fourth woman says the singer began assaulting her in 2007 when she traveled with him to his Las Vegas home.

None of the women are named in the suit, which is common in cases involving claims of sexual assault.

The suit, which is seeking at least $50 million in damages, says none of the women reported the assaults at the time because they were intimidated by Robinson's celebrity, and feared attacks on their character.

Robinson was one of the founding members of The Miracles, a Detroit-based outfit that came together in the 1950s.

The group had dozens of chart hits, including the smash "The Tears of a Clown" in 1967.