Paul Reder “steps down from his role to pursue new endeavors,” according to a Bass Camp Festival statement.
Amid a sex trafficking and abuse lawsuit over events that allegedly transpired from 2012-2016, Paul Reder will be replaced as president of Reno event brand Bass Camp Festival by Nick Rogers — his codefendant in the case.
Bass Camp announced Rogers’ appointment in a statement shared on Monday. In addition to outlining his duties of overseeing operations and driving growth, it touched on his history with the company, highlighting how he has been involved since its 2013 inception and was promoted to a partnership role in 2018.
Importantly, Bass Camp stated that the “leadership transition marks a new chapter for the company, as Paul Reder steps down from his role to pursue new endeavors.” A glance at the lawsuit reveals that the anonymous plaintiff accused Rogers of knowingly enabling some of Reder’s offenses, however.
Nick Rogers was one of three individuals named as defendants in the complaint, the others being Reder’s colleague, Matthew Stegemiller, and sister, Phyllis Weiner. It argues that they, along with brands like Columbia Sussex, Reder’s own PR Entertainment, and Bass Camp itself, “knew or should have known” of the disgraced entrepreneur’s unlawful conduct.
Specifically, it says that “on several occasions,” Reder “instructed Rogers” to “provide a place for Plaintiff to sleep” when Reder’s family members were in town. The plaintiff allegedly slept on Rogers’ couch a number of times over the course of a year starting in October 2014.
According to the lawsuit, Rogers also provided Reder with drugs like cocaine, MDMA, mushrooms, and cannabis, which Reder would then pressure the plaintiff to take. Rogers also allegedly gave the plaintiff rides, including to the hospital after Reder’s sexual abuse would cause him to contract urinary tract infections or strep throat.
Bass Camp Festival previously told EDM Identity that it is “preparing a full-fledged legal defense to vindicate all defendants on the merits.” When asked if Rogers’ appointment meant that the company had changed its position on Reder’s innocence — or whether it was still owned by Reder’s PR Entertainment — a spokesperson declined to comment.
Last week, Bass Camp announced that Space Laces would no longer perform at an October 26 event for which he was initially the headliner, and that it would relocate from Cargo Concert Hall to The Alpine two days before it took place.