Joseph Gatto – Actor who appeared in season 4. game of thronesnearly two years after he was falsely accused of being a pedophile, the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, and Deputy District Attorney Angela Brunson have been sued for a whopping $40 million. filed a lawsuit.
by suitIn the document, obtained by DECIDER, Gatto says the defendants “publicly branded him a serial pedophile,” which ultimately destroyed his “acting career and personal reputation.” He claims that he did it. He also claims that Brunson “sought to destroy him based solely on prejudice and personal enmity” related to their differing political views.
The “failed criminal investigation” is said to have stemmed from a message Gatto sent to a teenage boy on his 16th birthday, whom he learned was an “enthusiastic” fan through a cameo appearance. The complaint states that the fan, referred to as “Jane Doe,” expressed her gratitude on social media, resulting in a “totally innocuous” conversation that was “completely appropriate and typical celebrity-fan interaction.” It became “consistent with”.
However, she is said to have “fabricated a fake conversation between herself and Gatto that was of a sexual nature and based on pure fantasy” via the social media platform Snapchat. After one of Jane Doe’s brothers saw the messages and reported them to authorities, the defendants “didn’t even bother to interview them,” Gatto said. [Jane Doe] Or even remotely assess Gatt’s credibility until almost a year after his arrest and indictment. ”
He said his contract was “immediately revoked” as he was fired from his agent and public relations team following his arrest in April 2022. He was also fired from two films, recast in another film in which he was scheduled to play the lead role, and replaced or cut from the two films he had already shot.
But Gatto said his arrest had more to do with politics than criminal charges.
Gatt added in his complaint that Branson, like himself, was a member of the high-performance sports car community, revealing “previously undisclosed personal connections.” She also said that Branson knew him for his “liberal political beliefs,” while noting that she “espouses conservative political beliefs that are the exact opposite of his own.” . Additionally, Gatt publicly supported DA Gascon, while Brunson was a “vocal critic” of him.
“Given her political beliefs and Gatto’s reputation as a liberal and pro-Gascon in the common community, including her relationship with her boyfriend’s employer, WRTeknica, DDA Branson believes that this issue is a clearly already had a personal animosity toward Gatto at the time of his referral,” the suit says. “But surprisingly, DDA Branson never disclosed his personal connections or obvious conflicts of interest to the court, Gatto, or his criminal defense attorney.”
In response to the charges, Mr. Gatto’s lawyer, Dean Pamfilis, released a statement. deadline.
“The arrest and indictment against Mr. Gatto therefore stigmatizes him.” “The Los Angeles Prosecutor’s Office and LAPD investigated him as a serial pedophile, but it was based on fabricated evidence,” he said. “Twenty months later, when the fabricated evidence came to light, Finally revealed to Mr. Gatto, whose forensic experts were prepared to reveal the truth in open court, the Los Angeles Prosecutor’s Office was voluntarily fired. Criminal complaint. But Mr. Gatto had already lost his community, his acting career, and his personal reputation. ”
