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UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a statement from MPD Chief John Pelletier.

Mayor Richard Bissen has called for Maui Police Chief John Pelletier to be placed on administrative leave in light of recent allegations that he played a role in an elaborate scheme that allowed people to be assaulted by rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2018. 

At the time, Pelletier was a Las Vegas police captain in charge of an area that included the glitzy boulevard of hotels and casinos known as The Strip.

On Friday, Pelletier’s name was added to a long list of defendants that includes high-profile celebrities such as former Miami Dolphins star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and comedian Drew “Druski” Desbordes, according to the lawsuit originally filed in October in the U.S. District Court for Northern California by Ashley Parham and two unnamed plaintiffs. 

“While the allegations in the amended complaint remain unproven, they are serious in nature and involve claims of alleged criminal conduct,” Bissen said in a letter Monday to the Maui Police Commission. “This approach does not constitute a presumption of guilt but ensures that the individual in question is not in a position that may compromise the integrity of the office while the matter is under review.”

Bissen urged the commission to conduct its own independent review of the accusations.

On Wednesday, Hawaii News Now reported that Pelletier had released bank records that show he was hundreds of miles away from where the alleged crime took place. He made numerous transactions at businesses in Las Vegas on the days when the lawsuit claims he was in California.

“I can unequivocally account for my whereabouts on that date, with documented proof confirming I was in Las Vegas,” Pelletier said in a statement to HNN.

Parham says in the lawsuit that Pelletier had been posing as a sheriff in Contra Costa County, California, when she told him she had just escaped to a neighbor’s house after being violently gang raped by Combs, Desbordes, Beckham and others. She informed Pelletier that she did not have her phone, purse, clothes or car keys, but he did not call emergency services or help her recover her belongings and instead told her to find a way to get home, according to the lawsuit. 

Parham said she later saw Pelletier hand what she believed to be an envelope of cash to the neighbor who owned the home where she sought refuge after being raped, according to court documents. 

The two unnamed plaintiffs, a mother and a son who are identified in court documents as Jane Doe and John Doe, said they had witnessed Combs and others rape Parham after Pelletier abducted them from their residence in Las Vegas and brought them to the California home at gunpoint in a black SUV, the lawsuit says. Pelletier told the mother and son that they were being extradited for warrants in California, according to court documents, but when they asked to see the warrants Pelletier refused and threatened to shoot them.

Jane Doe and John Doe were trafficked to several locations, including what they believe was Pelletier’s home in Las Vegas, a hotel and eventually the Orinda, California, house where they witnessed Combs and several others assault Parham, according to the lawsuit. 

When Combs attempted to force John Doe to participate in raping Parham, he refused and was assaulted himself, court documents say.

A local police officer eventually responded and attempted to talk to the mother and son, but Pelletier interrupted and said all three plaintiffs were suspects in a federal drug-trafficking investigation he was working on, according to the lawsuit.

Combs, an iconic music producer who has also gone by “Puff Daddy,” was previously charged with sex trafficking and other crimes and has been imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since September, according to The New York Times.

MPD did not respond to requests for comment late Monday. Spokesperson Alana Pico said in a statement to other local media outlets that Pelletier, who joined MPD as chief in 2021, has no connection to anyone named in the lawsuit.

“We are confident that the evidence will demonstrate these claims to be false and will expose those who are deliberately trying to manipulate the legal system to spread misleading narratives,” Pico said in a statement to KHON2 News.

Beckham and Desbordes have also denied any wrongdoing.

Pelletier released a statement Tuesday vehemently denying the allegations that he was involved in a sex trafficking conspiracy involving Combs in 2018.

“Let me be clear: the allegations made against me are completely false, and I have not been formally served with any legal paperwork,” he said in a statement provided by Pico.

In his statement, Pelletier expressed disappointment in Bissen’s decision to call for the Police Commission to put the chief on administrative leave while accusations against him are investigated, calling the request “premature and unjust.”

“I understand the importance of transparency and accountability in law enforcement, and I fully intend to cooperate with any necessary processes to ensure the truth is known,” Pelletier said in the statement. “However, I firmly believe no one should face professional consequences based on unsubstantiated claims.”

He said he remained committed to the department and residents of Maui County, and he appreciated “the support of those who know my character, my dedication to my family, and my lifelong commitment to this profession.”

Read the lawsuit below or click on this link.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.