The Neighbourhood fires drummer after sexual assault allegations
A former drummer has alleged that a local band’s manager sexually assaulted him in a hotel room, while several other people in the room watched, in a case that has prompted the band to seek legal action.
Last month, the band Neighbourhood had played the Sydney Opera House and other venues for the last time together since 2011, when former drummer Michael O’Malley joined the band’s current drummer Scott Molloy.
On social media in the lead up to the band’s farewell tour, Molloy described the incident, which occurred in September, as a “traumatic ordeal” for his and the band’s tour manager.
Neighbourhood was recently asked to stop playing shows at the end of May, following the allegations.
Molloy played on Neighbourhood’s last tour with former band members Luke Hainsworth and Matt Wichle.
The group was later forced to end their Australian tour for the summer when the allegations of sexual assault against one of their tour managers, Dave Farrant, became public.
The band are in the process of finding a legal representative following an offer from lawyers for Molloy to do so for free.
According to Molloy, he had been invited to a hotel suite in Sydney’s CBD where he had sex with Farrant, while three other people filmed the event.
The Sydney Morning Herald has also been told the former drummer alleges that he was approached by Farrant, and offered $150 to stop the tour.
The former drummer told the Herald that he had wanted to end the tour but was unable to do so because Farrant had been in contact with a potential promoter, and said he would continue playing shows.
He was initially offered $300, before agreeing to take the money to settle with the band and not attend a trial and having the case settled out of court, in exchange for not giving evidence.
Molloy said he decided to go public with his allegations after Farrant threatened to come to his house, while in Sydney.
“After I started to get calls and texts from people like him, I realised it needed to
