A case making its way through the California court system is called John Doe v. Bass Camp Festival, which had a major event this past July in downtown Reno.
It names its president Paul Reder, Nick Rogers who works for Appliance Educator, Matthew Stegemiller, Carolyn Weiner and Phyllis Weiner.
After seeking comment from Bass Camp, this statement was released via email: “We were recently made aware of an alleged incident from over a decade ago by a former employee. And while we will not comment on active litigation, we can say that we are preparing a full-fledged legal defense to vindicate all defendants on the merits.”
According to the EDM Identity website the lawsuit alleges Reder sex trafficked a minor more than a decade ago after meeting him on a dating app, allegedly driving him from California to Lake Tahoe in Nevada, and according to that website quoting the lawsuit “forcibly performed oral sex on him after giving him cannabis and alcohol.”
The article says that starting in 2013 this person started working the box office at Bass Camp Festival and other similar events, and was provided 21+ wristbands and alcohol even though he was not of age.
It goes on to say that the John Doe filing the lawsuit had multiple health problems because of the alleged relationship with Reder, and that other people named as defendants enabled this allegedly abusive behavior.
The complaint, which was filed on August 9 by Derek Smith Law Group, according to the EDM Identity website “invokes the Trafficking Victims’ Protection Act and Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act when substantiating its violations. It also alleges that the defendants committed sexual battery, sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. It seeks damages in an amount to be determined in future proceedings.”
We will update this story when we get more information.
Our Town Reno reporting, October 2024