Disney Star Ricky Garcia Says his Manager Sexually Assaulted Him Dozens of Times Starting at Age 12

Ricky Garcia, a former member of the boy band Forever In Your Mind and an actor on the Disney channel show Best Friends Whenever, is suing former manager Joby Harte, claiming Harte, “Intoxicated and raped him on an almost weekly basis.”

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According to USA Today, “In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles and obtained by USA TODAY, Garcia’s attorneys allege years of sexual abuse by Harte, beginning when Garcia was 12. The lawsuit names Harte, four entertainment companies and four other individuals. … The suit says Harte initially began having conversations with Garcia about sexuality and later intoxicated Garcia before stripping him naked and sexually assaulting him. By the time Garcia was 16, his lawsuit claims, Harte sexually assaulted him “on an almost weekly basis.”

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“The singer, now 20, claims Harte used the “well-worn pedophile playbook of grooming and seduction.” Garcia claims it started with Harte promising him the world … before showing him porn and then allegedly sexually assaulting him. In the docs, filed by attorney Ben Meiselas of Geragos and Geragos, Garcia — who auditioned for season 3 of “The X Factor” and joined the boy band at Simon Cowell’s invitation — claims on multiple occasions Harte got him blackout drunk. Garcia claims he’d wake up naked the following mornings next to Harte. … For his 17th birthday, Garcia claims Harte got in his shower stall at a hotel resort and forced him to masturbate Harte until he ejaculated. Garcia says he never told anyone about the alleged sexual assaults because he was afraid of losing his career,” TMZ reported.