Ricky Garcia, who found fame after he was picked by Simon Cowell to form a boyband on The X Factor US, has sued his former manager for alleged rape according to reports in the US.
Ricky, now 20, has accused Joby Harte of sexual assault and rape which began at the age of 12.
In documents filed by attorney Ben Meiselas of Geragos and Geragos, and seen by TMZ and DailyMail.com, Garcia claims that Harte and his company Hot Rock Media used the ‘well-worn paedophile playbook of grooming and seduction’ and alleges that Harte would regularly get him ‘black out drunk’ only for Ricky to wake up in the morning next to him naked.
‘Defendant Harte, the ringleader, employed the well-worn paedophile playbook of grooming and seduction. He targeted an economically and emotionally vulnerable pre-teen and his parents. He then groomed and seduced the child’s mother to have her lay down her defences and give him unfettered access to her son, making her an unwitting accomplice to his depravity,’ the documents reportedly read.
Garcia, who starred in Disney’s Best Friends Whenever, also alleges that Harte – who claims on his Wiki page to have helped launch ITV show Pop Idol and worked on Strictly Come Dancing – groomed him into a ‘sexual plaything that could be passed around his friends in the business’ including producer Nils Larsen, who categorically denies the claims in the ‘malicious prosecution’- and ex-APA agent Tyler Grasham.
Garcia is suing Harte, Grasham, Larsen, Hot Rock Media, Cohen/Thomas Management and its partners Sheri Andersen Thomas and Paul Cohen, as well as APA.
Ricky took to Instagram to tell fans ‘today was one of the most difficult days of my life’.
‘Sadly I know my experience is just one of many and I hope my actions today will help others who experienced abuse to know that they are not alone and that there are people in this world fighting for them,’ he shared.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2SFRtEgySq/?utm_source=ig_embed
He added in the caption: ‘So please if anyone is out there right now going through something even remotely similar to what I went through, please, we all need to speak out about this – yes of course I want justice for the POS that manipulated me, but more importantly this is about saving anyone else who feels like they don’t have a voice, because I can tell you this.
‘YOU are not alone. This can happen to anyone you know.
‘It’s just a matter of talking about this to people and letting your close ones know that it’s not okay. So if anyone knows anyone else that’s going through this s**t as well. It’s so important to speak up for them.’
Ricky was 14 when he auditioned for The X Factor US season three; he was eliminated during the boot camp round but Simon Cowell asked him to return along with Emery Kelly, 16, and teamed them with Jon Klaasen to form a trio he named Forever in Your Mind.
They were cut before the final 16 but were signed to Hollywood Records an released an EP in 2016.
Larsen’s attorney Marty Singer told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement: ‘My client Nils Larsen categorically disputes the claim.
‘He intends to sue the attorneys for malicious prosecution after he prevails in this action.’
Grasham was fired from APA in October 2017 amid sexual harassment and assault allegations from Blaise Godbe Lipman, Lucas Ozarowski and Jordan Gavaris.
Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Harte for comment.
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