[ad_1]
“Game of Thrones” star Joseph Gatt is suing Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, the City of Los Angeles, L.A. County and others for $40 million after being arrested and charged with having “online sexually explicit communication with a minor across state lines.”
The 52-year-old actor was arrested in April 2022 and launched the identical day after posting a $5,000 bail. Gatt vehemently denied the allegations on the time, and the costs have been dismissed in February.
On Thursday, Gatt filed a lawsuit in federal court docket claiming {that a} “thoroughly botched criminal investigation” primarily based on “the uncorroborated word of a then-16-year-old, admittedly obsessed fan of Gatt” brought on the “intentional destruction” of his profession and popularity after he was “publicly branded as a serial pedophile,” based on court docket paperwork obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Game of Thrones” star Joseph Gatt is suing Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, the City of Los Angeles, LA County and others for $40 million. (Getty)
The lawsuit named Gascón, L.A. County, L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Angela Brunson, LAPD Detective Denos Amarantos and the City of Los Angeles as defendants.
‘GAME OF THRONES’ ACTOR JOSEPH GATT ARRESTED FOR CONTACT WITH A MINOR FOR SEXUAL OFFENSE
“Defendants, using threats, intimidation and coercion, and with no cause, let alone probable cause, subjected Gatt—a successful actor with numerous film and television series credits, including Game of Thrones and Banshee, among many others — to an utterly baseless arrest, unlawful detention, unlawful search and seizure of property, and malicious prosecution in which Gatt was alleged to have electronically communicated with a minor in a sexually explicit manner,” the paperwork acknowledged.
In the lawsuit, Gatt claimed that the arrest and investigation have been as a result of alleged actions of a teenage fan, referred to within the paperwork as “Jane Doe,” whom he “did not know and has never actually met.”
The paperwork acknowledged that the defendants didn’t interview “Jane Doe” till nearly a 12 months after Gatt was arrested, charged with “baseless crimes” and labeled a serial pedophile.
The 52-year-old actor was arrested in April 2022 and charged with having “online sexually explicit communication with a minor across state lines.” The costs have been dismissed in February. (Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic)
According to the paperwork, a pal of the fan shocked her in October 2020 with a Cameo video from Gatt during which he wished her a cheerful sixteenth birthday. “Jane Doe,” who lived in Washington state, contacted Gatt on Instagram to thank him for the birthday needs.
The teen continued to message Gatt on Instagram for the subsequent two to a few months, and he “responded in a manner that was wholly appropriate and consistent with typical celebrity-fan exchanges,” based on the lawsuit.
“Unbeknownst to Gatt, throughout this time Jane Doe was an admittedly obsessed fan who was already using a naked picture of Gatt — a still image from his appearance on the television show ‘Banshee’ that Jane Doe herself had apparently sought out and downloaded from the internet — as her phone’s lock screen even before Gatt had ever had any interaction with her,” the paperwork claimed.
“Gatt also learned much later that Jane Doe had professed that she had sexual dreams involving Gatt, and had also apparently downloaded from the internet pictures of Gatt from his appearance on the television show Z Nation and photoshopped a fake tattoo of her own name onto Gatt’s right bicep,” the lawsuit added.
“Without Gatt’s knowledge, and apparently using software readily available on the internet for the specific purpose of creating fake social media conversations to trick and impress friends, Jane Doe thereafter wholly manufactured fake conversations between herself and Gatt via the social media platform Snapchat that were sexual in nature and pure fantasy,” the lawsuit continued.
In addition to Gascon, Gatt is suing LA County, LA County Deputy District Attorney Angela Brunson, LAPD Detective Denos Amarantos and the City of Los Angeles. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News by way of Getty Images)
According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe’s older sister discovered the pretend Snapchat messages, took pictures of them together with her personal telephone and despatched them to a police division in Washington. The paperwork acknowledged that investigators referred the case to the LA DA and the LAPD in December 2021 after studying Gatt did not dwell in Washington.
The lawsuit accused the defendants of failing to substantiate that the “obviously fake” pictures have been actual earlier than Gatt was arrested and charged.
“Gatt was arrested and prosecuted based solely on unauthenticated pictures of social media conversations displayed on an unidentified phone screen that, on their face, were highly suspicious and facially untrustworthy,” the paperwork acknowledged.
In addition, the lawsuit alleged that Deputy District Attorney Brunson “sought to destroy Gatt based on nothing more than bias and personal animosity” stemming from political variations.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
According to the paperwork, Brunson and Gatt are each energetic members of the high-performance sports activities automotive neighborhood in L.A., and the deputy district lawyer’s boyfriend labored at a motorsports tuning retailer that the actor frequented.
“Gatt was well known in the high-performance sports car community generally, and to DDA Brunson specifically, for his liberal political beliefs, including his vocal support for the Black Lives Matter movement and for LA County District Attorney George Gascón,” the paperwork mentioned.
“Like the vast majority of the high-performance sports car community, DDA Brunson espouses conservative political beliefs that are the polar opposite of Gatt’s beliefs, and she was also a vocal critic of Gascón despite working for him at the LA DA.”
The lawsuit alleged that Brunson “ignored the glaring red flags” within the proof towards Gatt earlier than having him arrested and prosecuted.
Last summer time, Brunson left Gascón’s workplace for a place on the Riverside County District Attorney’s workplace.
Gatt appeared within the fourth season of “Game of Thrones.” (Photo by Leon Bennett)
In the paperwork, Gatt acknowledged that he had misplaced skilled alternatives after the defendants issued a press release to the press during which he was branded as a serial pedophile.
“Gatt was immediately cancelled and what had previously been a burgeoning acting career was destroyed,” the grievance reads. “Gatt’s agent and PR representatives dropped him immediately, he was fired from two different movies in which he had already been cast, and he was also recast in a third movie in which he had been hired to play the lead role.
“Moreover, at the least two different motion pictures he had already filmed nearly completely reduce his scenes or reshot them with completely different actors, and he was not invited to attend the premieres. Gatt instantly stopped receiving any additional function gives or audition alternatives, and as an alternative obtained quite a few loss of life threats and was stalked and chased by a Daily Mail reporter.”
The documents stated that Gatt had hired a private forensic investigator to examine the evidence. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants refused to allow the investigator to present his findings in court and had the case dismissed.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
According to the lawsuit, Gatt has not worked as an actor since the arrest and had to sell his high-performance car, a Ford Shelby GT 500, to cover his legal expenses.
“As a direct end result of Defendants’ reckless investigation and malicious prosecution, Gatt has suffered immeasurable psychological anguish and emotional misery that made him bodily in poor health, and his popularity has been totally destroyed,” the lawsuit claimed.
Gatt stated that he hasn’t worked as an actor since his arrest. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega)
According to the lawsuit, Gatt is seeking “to get better the greater than $40 million in damages that he has suffered in consequence of Defendants’ violations of his constitutional rights.”
Representatives for the L.A. District Attorney’s Office and the LAPD did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Dean Z. Pamphilis, a partner with Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP and Gatt’s attorney wrote, “The arrest and costs towards Mr. Gatt—for which he was branded by the Los Angeles DA and LAPD as a serial pedophile — have been primarily based on fabricated proof.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Twenty months later, when the fabricated proof was lastly disclosed to Mr. Gatt and Mr. Gatt’s forensic skilled have been ready to show the reality in open court docket, the Los Angeles DA voluntarily dismissed the prison grievance,” Pamphilis continued. “Mr. Gatt, nonetheless, had already misplaced his neighborhood, his appearing profession and his private popularity. We look ahead to recovering Mr. Gatt’s monumental losses in court docket.”
Gatt is represented by Pamphilis, J. Michael Wilson, Daniel A. Saunders and Sara Wolfe.
The actor played Thenn Warg in the fourth season of “Game of Thrones.” He also is known for portraying “The Albino” in the Cinemax action show “Banshee.” Other credits include roles in movies including “Black Adam,” “Dumbo,” “Titanic 666” and “The Retaliators.”
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink