Garth Brooks accused of rape by hair-and-makeup artist: What penalty could he face if found guilty?
A plaintiff known as “Jane Roe” filed a complaint of sexual assault and battery against the country music superstar in California.
Country music superstar Garth Brooks is facing serious allegations in a lawsuit filed in California. An unidentified plaintiff under the name “Jane Roe” is accusing the award-winning musician of sexual assault and battery as well as repeated exposing himself to her, sharing lewd fantasies and a “litany of sexual misconduct”.
The woman says that she began working as hairstylist and makeup artist for the Friends in Low Places singer in 2017. She said in a prior legal filing reported by CNN that she worked periodically for Brooks over 15 years having performed the same services for his wife Trisha Yearwood since 1999. The incident of rape alleged in the lawsuit took place in 2019 in a hotel in California.
Garth Brooks accused of rape by hair-and-makeup artist
The plaintiff alleges that the country music star raped her during a work trip while he was in Los Angeles for a Grammy tribute to Sam Moore. Just the two of them flew on Brooks’ private jet when normally there would have been others.
When they got to the hotel, the singer had booked a hotel suite with only one room. She asked to have a separate room, but he denied the request. Then once they were in the suite, he appeared “completely naked” in the doorway to the bedroom where she felt “trapped.”
During another incident alleged in Roe’s complaint that occurred prior to the alleged rape, she says that when she was at Brooks’ house for work, he came out of the shower naked, grabbed her hands and forced her to grab his genitals. He then proceeded to share a sexual fantasy that he had about her.
This sharing of sexually explicit desires became more common after the hotel incident she claims. Additionally, that he would fondle her when she was doing his makeup despite her telling him not to.
What penalty could Garth Brooks face if found guilty?
The lawsuit against him is civil, the plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages. However, prosecutors could bring criminal charges based on the evidence even if the plaintiff does not press charges. Rape is a felony offense in California, punishable with up to 8 years in prison, $10,000 fine and being registered as a sex offender for life.
In civil court, Brooks could face a hefty settlement depending on the jury’s verdict. To get an idea of how much Jane Roe could be awarded you don’t need to look any further than the case against billionaire Alki David.
A woman, who worked for the Hollywood Executive, alleged in her lawsuit that she was harassed, assaulted and raped over a three-year period from 2016 to 2019. The Los Angeles jury awarded her $900 million in damages, marking one of the largest verdicts in a sexual assault case in history.