Civil suit contends Celine Dion's husband raped woman

Dion and Angelil were in Paris promoting Dion's new album last week.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A civil lawsuit claims Rene Angelil -- the husband and manager of pop diva Celine Dion -- raped a woman in her Las Vegas hotel room two years ago and threatened to kill her "if my wife finds out about this."

The suit, filed March 15 in Las Vegas by Yun Kyeong Sung Kwon and her husband, AE H. Kwon, seeks to set aside a settlement agreement between the couple and Angelil because he allegedly failed to offer an apology and get tested for HIV and hepatitis. The Kwons were given an undisclosed amount of money as part of the June 2000 settlement.

The suit seeks a minimum of $60,000 from Angelil and the Imperial Palace Casino in Las Vegas where the woman says she was raped in March 2000.

A police report was not filed at the time, but Las Vegas police told CNN a report has since been filed -- on March 19, two years to the day after the alleged incident.

Angelil, in a statement from his press agent before a gag order was issued in the case last Friday, vowed to fight the suit, calling it a "preposterous plot, specious and false."

"Anyone who knows Rene Angelil knows that these claims are ridiculous," Angelil's attorney Marty Singer said.

Singer acknowledged Angelil paid "a lot of money" to settle the claims made by the Kwons, but said he only agreed to do so because "he wanted to protect the health of himself, his wife and his unborn child at a time when he was fighting cancer and his wife had finally become pregnant after struggling with the horrible physical and emotional strain of enduring protracted fertility treatments." (Celine Dion gave birth to son, Rene-Charles Angelil, in January 2001.)

The statement goes on to call the claims "fabricated" and a "con game."

According to the suit, Angelil followed Mrs. Kwon -- a Korean who claims to be an ordained minister of the Full Gospel World church in Los Angeles -- from the Caesars Palace casino back to her room at the Imperial Palace.

The suit alleges that Angelil "pushed his way" into Mrs. Kwon's room, "tore off her clothing" and "forcibly raped her."

"In a quick, vicious and violent manner, Defendant Angelil sexually forced himself upon Plaintiff Mrs. Kwon as he fended off her attempts to protect herself," the suit alleges.

After Angelil dressed himself, according to the lawsuit, he turned to Mrs. Kwon and said, "If my wife finds out about this, I'll kill you!"

The suit claims that the Kwons were under duress when they entered into the settlement agreement they now seek to have put aside, and that their then-attorneys warned about "how easy and inexpensive it would be" for Angelil to have them killed if they didn't seek a settlement.

A judge in Las Vegas issued the gag order, banning discussions about the case with the news media until a hearing can be held.

A spokesman for the Canadian recording star's record label -- Epic Records -- told CNN that Dion's husband is "anxious" to respond to the allegations but can't now because of the gag order.

Celine Dion is currently in New York getting ready for the release of her new album Tuesday.

CNN attempted to get a comment from the attorney representing the Kwons. His office said he would not comment due to the gag order. CNN has been unable to locate the Kwons or the church Mrs. Kwon reportedly is attached to.

A lawyer representing Angelil did not return a call seeking comment.