Justin Sane of Anti-Flag is being sued for sexual assault
After the breakup of the rock band Anti-Flag, another victim has come forward, accusing frontman Justin Sane of sexual assault.
This comes after 12 other women had come forward in September accusing Sane of indecent behaviour when interacting with them offstage, including some victims as young as 12 years old at the time of the alleged assault. These various encounters trace back as far as the late 1990s, with the most recent coming in 2020.
When discussing her experience, Kristina Sarhadi claimed that the frontman “used his platform as a celebrated, self-proclaimed ‘punk rock star’ to groom and lure vulnerable girls into feeling safe in his presence” and has now filed a lawsuit against the performer.
Sane, legally known as Justin Geever, has been known for fronting Anti-Flag boasting beliefs promoting the protection of women. In her statement, Sarhadi argues that Geever used his role as the band’s frontman to feed his addiction for control and power over his female fans.
Sarhadi went into detail about how physically violent he could be with her, telling the Enough podcast, “It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced. I can’t stress how violent he was and how much I fully believed I was going to die, that he was going to kill me.”
In addition to suing the singer, Sarhadi is also suing the band and their distribution company for an unspecified amount of money. Previous victims have also echoed similar stances, saying that most of the members of the band had an awareness of what was going on and did not address the problem. Since the first accusations, the band have also announced their decision to disband.
Despite her trauma, Sarhadi thought that her case would help give hope for other victims of sexual assault, saying, “Today I hope to encourage his survivors, and survivors of other predators in the music industry, to feel hope again.”
