Rock Singer Sex Case Goes to Trial This Week : Courts: Proceedings for Rick James and his girlfriend, charged with assault, torture and beating of women have been consolidated.

In a case that promises to generate lurid tales of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll, jury selection is scheduled to begin this week in San Fernando Superior Court for the sexual assault and torture trial of singer Rick James and his girlfriend, Tanya Anne Hijazi.

James, 45, and Hijazi, 23, also are facing charges stemming from a separate incident in which they allegedly beat up another woman and held her prisoner in the tony St. James’s Club Hotel in West Hollywood.

The two cases have been consolidated, over the objections of defense attorneys. Both defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison if they are convicted of all charges.

The first set of charges are based on an incident on July 16, 1991, at James’ home in the Hollywood Hills above Studio City, where he and Hijazi allegedly took cocaine with a woman and then tied her naked to a chair. Prosecutors say that James burned the woman on her legs and stomach, and then forced the woman to perform sex acts with Hijazi while he watched.

The second set of charges was filed after an alleged incident on Nov. 2, 1992, in which James--best known for his 1981 hit song “Super Freak”--and Hijazi are accused of beating up a woman they invited to join them at the St. James’s Club.

Through their attorneys, James and Hijazi deny the charges, claiming both women are seeking publicity and money from James. James is free on $250,000 bail and Hijazi on $175,000 bail.

After a preliminary hearing on the first set of charges in September, 1991, the woman making the allegations filed a $15-million civil lawsuit against James, whose real name is James Ambrose Johnson.

However, that suit has been dismissed because the woman failed to remain in contact with her attorney, and depositions could not be arranged.

The woman’s attorney, Joseph Shemaria, said last week he has not spoken to her in months, and does not know how to reach her.

The woman involved in the second incident--Mary Sauger, 34, of West Hollywood--has not filed suit against James, but at the preliminary hearing in December, 1992, Sauger sent a note to the judge saying she preferred to resolve the matter through civil litigation rather than criminal proceedings. But prosecutors would not agree to drop charges, and forced Sauger to testify.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew R. Flier said he has recently been in contact with the women and both will testify at the trial.

In a pretrial hearing Friday, Flier sought a court ruling that would enable him to introduce evidence that James has displayed a pattern of drug abuse and assaults on women.

However, Judge Michael Hoff ruled that Flier could not introduce testimony regarding a September, 1991, incident, in which police questioned James about purchasing drugs from a dealer on a Hollywood street, but was not arrested.

Hoff also will not allow any testimony about an alleged incident in late 1989 in which a woman claimed James pushed his way into line in front of her at a restaurant and insulted her.

Hoff will allow an Upstate New York woman to testify that in 1986 James assaulted her after he accused her of stealing jewelry from him. No charges were filed against James in that case.

Hoff will hear testimony outside the presence of the jury this week to determine if two other women will be allowed to testify. One, currently in prison, has told prosecutors Hijazi confessed to her in jail that Hijazi and James beat up Sauger. That woman also claims James assaulted her in December, 1991, over payment for a kilogram of cocaine.

A hearing will also be held to determine if James’ former personal manager will be allowed to testify that she once saw a naked woman tied up in a closet in James’ apartment in Marina del Rey, while Hijazi hung from the balcony naked.

James’ attorney, Mark J. Werksman, who replaced Anthony Brooklier last month, argued that allowing other women to testify about alleged assaults is prejudicial and “pushes fairness to the wall. It’s going to distract the jury.”

James and Hijazi were first arrested in August, 1991, after the woman in the torture case went to a hospital to receive medical attention for burns on her legs and stomach and hospital officials notified police. She was initially reluctant to name James, but later relented.

During a preliminary hearing in September, 1991, the woman testified that she had only arrived in Los Angeles from her native Georgia about two months before going to a party at James’ house.

She said she, James, Hijazi and several others used cocaine almost nonstop for a week. She also said she had consensual sex with James at least twice.

But on July 16, she said that James became angry and accused her of stealing some of his cocaine. She said James ordered her to undress, tied her to a chair, and used a heated kitchen knife and a cocaine pipe to burn her legs and stomach. Then he forced her and Hijazi to perform sex acts on each other while he watched, she said. She said the three of them then had sex with each other.

She left James’ house the next day to get medical attention.

In the second case, Sauger testified during a preliminary hearing in December that James and Hijazi invited her to join them on Nov. 2 at the St. James’s Club.

Sauger said that while having drinks and discussing performers going on tour, Hijazi became angry and began slapping her. She said that James then slapped her until she lost consciousness. She was revived with water, and then James slapped her again and choked her, she said.

Sauger said she did not immediately seek medical attention or notify police, even though her left eye was swollen closed and her right eye nearly closed. She testified that she did not go to a hospital until after talking two days later with an attorney, who advised her that she could seek civil damages against James.

After she was treated at the hospital, doctors notified police.