The question of whether 50 Cent was present during Tony Yayo's alleged assault of a 14-year-old boy last week is at the center of a verbal battle in the media between 50's attorney, Benjamin Brafman, and Jeffrey Lichtman, who represents Game manager Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond.

Rosemond is the father of the child who was allegedly attacked by Yayo on March 20 (see "G-Unit's Tony Yayo Arrested — Reportedly For Slapping Game's Manager's Teen Son").

Brafman said his client wasn't even within the borders of New York State at the time of the incident (see "50 Cent 'Not In New York State' At Time Of Yayo Incident, Lawyer Says"), which contradicts a statement issued by the alleged victim's mother, Cynthia Reed, on Saturday. "It's a shame," reads the statement, "that 50 Cent and Tony Yayo could feel comfortable slapping and physically attacking an innocent 14-year-old minor that they market and promote their records to. This [incident] should be looked [upon] as a step away from child molestation."

On Monday, Lichtman told the New York Post, "[50 Cent] was the one that gave the hand signal that started the whole thing. He wasn't there during the hitting, but [he] ... started it."

On Tuesday (March 27), Brafman said he would seek a full retraction and apology for the statement, and told MTV News that, should no retraction be forthcoming, he'll consider filing a defamation claim against Lichtman for statements he made to the press — specifically the insinuation that 50 was at the scene at the time of the alleged attack. His client, Brafman said, is "considering all of [his] options," and added that the rapper "wasn't in the state at the time" of the attack, and that he has "incontrovertible proof of that fact."

Lichtman said he's reiterating what the victim told him and the police investigating the matter, and told MTV News that if he's sued, "there will be a countersuit against Brafman" for defamatory comments he claims the lawyer made to the media about him "in [my] professional capacity."

"All I know is what the younger Rosemond told the police, and what he saw," Lichtman continued. "I wasn't there, so it's hard for me to say. All I ever really did was report what the kid told me and told the police and told his mother and told his father. Do I have any firsthand knowledge of any of it? I suppose I don't.

"But my feeling is, the one person who identified himself was Yayo, and the reason we know that it was Yayo is [Rosemond's son claims] he said, 'I'm mother----ing Tony Yayo' before he started slapping [the boy] around. He was up close and in his face too," he continued. "The kid claims he saw 50 in an adjacent SUV. [That] identification is not as easy as it would have been with a guy who identifies himself and starts slapping the kid around."

Brafman claims his client was at his Connecticut home at the time of the assault. Lichtman said the victim told police that, "prior to being attacked by Yayo and his three henchmen — two of whom had guns — he thought he saw 50 in an SUV giving a signal" to attack.

Lichtman said, "All I can confirm is what the kid told the police."