Spears' ex disputes abuse claims

LOS ANGELES (AP) - An attorney for Britney Spears' ex-husband called child abuse claims leveled at the singer by a former bodyguard baseless and motivated by money.

Fernando Flores, who worked on the singer's security detail, sued Spears on Wednesday claiming sexual harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. His lawsuit claims Spears repeatedly exposed herself to him and that he witnessed her punish her young sons with his belt and act inappropriately in front of them.

Kevin Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan told The Associated Press that Flores' accusations had been looked into before the suit was filed and warranted no action. He said Federline takes any allegations of abuse or wrongdoing regarding the former couple's children seriously.

"He is satisfied that the allegations are a product of economic motives," Kaplan said. "They are as baseless as they seem."

Federline has custody of the former couple's sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, but Spears has substantial visitation with the boys.

Kaplan said if Federline believed the children were in danger, he would have stepped in already.

He noted that Flores' lawsuit was leaked to online news outlets before the suit was filed. "I think that the timing of this and the nature of the allegations speak for themselves."

The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages and includes several lurid allegations of Spears allegedly exposing herself to Flores.

Spears' publicist Holly Shakoor did not return e-mail messages seeking comment on the case.

The lawsuit claims that Spears, among other things, exposed herself to Flores and summoned him to her bedroom while she was naked.

The bodyguard's employment with Spears appeared to be brief — his court filings state he started working for her in February and had "exhausted his administrative remedies" with a state agency by July.

Flores also sued his former employer, Advanced Security Concepts Corp. A woman who answered the company's phone Wednesday declined to comment and refused to be identified.

Spears remains under a court-ordered conservatorship in which her personal and financial affairs are controlled by her father and an attorney, and monitored by a judge. The conservatorship has prevented Spears from being deposed or testifying during previous cases in which she was sued.

Despite a high-profile custody battle, Spears and Federline reached an agreement in 2008 and neither side has sought changes to the custody arrangement in nearly a year, court records show.