The former manager of Forever In Your Mind boy band member Ricky Garcia has been found liable for sexual abuse of the singer.
Garcia, 25, says his ex-manager Joby Harte, 42, raped and sexually assaulted him “dozens of times” during his teenage and teenage years, with the abuse occurring “weekly” after his 16th birthday.
A Los Angeles jury on Friday found Harte liable for childhood sexual abuse, gender violence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, Garcia’s attorney Michael S. Popok told DailyMail.com.
Harte was awarded a judgment of $6.5 million dollars, including punitive damages.
“A California jury has sent a clear and strong message that sexual predators, especially in the entertainment industry, will not be tolerated and that their victims can find a measure of justice for their lives in the American legal system,” Popok said.
The former manager of Forever In Your Mind boy band member Ricky Garcia has been found guilty of sexually abusing the singer
A Los Angeles jury found Joby Harte (photo) liable on Friday for childhood sexual abuse, gender violence and intentional infliction of emotional distress
“Our client, Mr. Garcia, wept openly in the courtroom as the jury returned its verdict, beginning a healing process for him that has been more than a decade in the making.”
The former Disney channel star of Best Friends When said on his Instagram Story, “Thank you to my amazing lawyers for their tireless work for justice.”
“Extremely grateful for my team who stood strong in the truth.”
The ruling is part of a lengthy legal battle that began in 2019 when Garcia, then 20 years old, first sued his former manager and several other music industry executives, citing years of sexual abuse that began when he was just was 12 years old.
Garcia said Harte groomed him from a young age to be a “sexual toy that could be passed around to his friends in the business,” including his colleagues, ex-APA agent Tyler Grasham and manager producer Nils Larsen.
“(Harte) targeted an economically and emotionally vulnerable young teenager and his parents. He then groomed and seduced the child’s mother into abandoning her defense and granting him unfettered access to her son, making her an unwitting accomplice to his depravity,” the initial complaint states.
According to Garcia’s lawyers, Harte – owner of Hot Rock Media – allegedly started his apparent grooming techniques slowly, occasionally talking to Garcia about his own sexuality and sexual history, before showing him pornography and urging him to try it. his sex toys out.
However, the subtle advances later culminated “in stunning Harte (Garcia), undressing him and raping him,” the actor said.
Over the next few years, with his “defenses and psyche in tatters,” Harte began abusing his client on a weekly basis, also making him “available” for abuse by Grasham and Larsen.
On one specific occasion, Harte allegedly hosted a two-night “songwriting session” on Catalina Island in 2014 without Garcia’s parents present.
Garcia said Harte intoxicated him with a cocktail of tequila and vodka before passing out and waking up hours later in Harte’s bed.
When he asked his manager what happened, Harte apparently responded that Harte had stripped and bathed him because he had thrown up everywhere before passing out.
Garcia, 25, says his ex-manager Joby Harte, 42, raped and sexually assaulted him ‘dozens of times’ during his teens and teens
Garcia went on to star in the Netflix film Finding ‘Ohana and married his wife Alli Nadine Garcia (right) in 2023.
On his 17th birthday, Garcia said he was showering at a resort hotel when Harte entered the stall and forced the teen to masturbate until he ejaculated.
Grasham has been accused by Garcia of making sexually suggestive comments towards him and licking his toes, while Larsen allegedly grabbed his penis over his pants during a 2016 concert.
In the complaint, Garcia says he didn’t tell anyone about the experiences until March 2018 because he feared his career would be derailed and he would lose friends and bandmates.
The band Forever in Your Mind was formed in 2013 when Garcia was cut from the X Factor bootcamp round and Simon Cowell asked him to join a group.
Garcia went on to star in the Netflix film Finding ‘Ohana and married his wife Alli Nadine Garcia in 2023.