Sport agent Jonathan Barnett accused of rape in US lawsuit

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Excessive-profile British sports activities agent Jonathan Barnett has been accused of raping a lady greater than 39 occasions, in a US lawsuit.

In a civil criticism lodged at a US district court docket in Los Angeles, the unnamed lady, known as "Jane Doe", says Mr Barnett "trafficked" her from Australia to the UK in 2017, "tortured" and saved her as a "intercourse slave" over a six 12 months interval.

She says Mr Barnett made "repeated threats to her life and the lives of her minor youngsters".

The 75-year-old identified for representing main footballers together with Gareth Bale and Jack Grealish, says the fees "haven't any foundation in actuality and are unfaithful".

"We are going to vigorously defend this lawsuit by the suitable authorized course of. I'm trying ahead to being solely vindicated and exonerated," a press release from his attorneys stated.

Mr Barnett was ranked because the world's strongest sports activities agent in 2019 by Forbes journal.

He co-founded London-based sports activities company Stellar Group in 1994, finally promoting it to Hollywood expertise company ICM Companions in 2020. ICM was later purchased by bigger rival CAA in a deal that merged two of the world's greatest businesses.

The civil case towards Mr Barnett, filed on Wednesday, makes use of the title CAA Stellar all through to consult with his sports activities company.

In keeping with court docket paperwork, the pair first met within the Nineties by knowledgeable athlete in London and reconnected on-line after which in particular person in 2017.

Inside a matter of weeks she relocated to the UK together with her teenage youngsters - with sports activities company CAA Stellar, headed by Mr Barnett, protecting shifting bills.

The submitting says that upon her arrival, he instructed her he "owned" her and raped her in a lodge room.

Mr Barnett went on to impose strict guidelines to obey him always, referring to him as "My Grasp" and to "by no means say it hurts", based on the lawsuit.

The criticism goes on to explain alleged degrading acts that included consuming urine or ingesting faeces.

The alleged torture additionally included the girl "tied up in a single day with out meals or water".

She says she was "trafficked, threatened, tortured, and held" in bondage in numerous places all through the world, together with Los Angeles, from 2017 to 2023.

"Realising she was powerless towards a harmful predator, Ms Doe submitted to Barnett so as to keep away from being severely overwhelmed and even killed," the lawsuit stated.

"Jane Doe" can be suing Hollywood expertise agency Artistic Artists Company and sports activities company CAA Stellar, the place Mr Barnett was government chairman till his retirement final 12 months.

The court docket paperwork state the CAA Stellar's mother or father corporations, expertise businesses ICM and CAA, "failed to search out and/or willfully or recklessly disregarded" that substantial funds had been made between 2017 and 2023, regardless of the girl not being an athlete or agent.

It's claimed Mr Barnett referred to her as "slave" in emails despatched from his work account.

Courtroom paperwork say Mr Barnett used his "cash and energy to take care of coercive management" over the girl who was "in worry of her life and the lives of her youngsters".

Attorneys for "Jane Doe" state the case is about "institutional abuse on the highest degree".

They're searching for compensation on her behalf.

CAA stated it first heard of the girl's allegations in January 2024 when her attorneys made settlement calls for - and the press inquired.

"Whereas the criticism makes an attempt to attach these allegations to CAA's enterprise, Ms Doe has by no means been an worker, marketing consultant, or contractor of CAA, ICM, or Stellar, nor has she ever had any enterprise connection to CAA, ICM, or Stellar," CAA stated in its assertion.