Justin Sane, the former lead singer of defunct political punk band Anti-Flag, has been ordered to pay $1.9 million to a woman he’s accused of raping in 2010.
A Tuesday (July 22) federal court order holds Sane (born Justin Geever) liable by default because he’s failed to respond to the assault and sexual battery lawsuit brought in 2023 by a woman named Kristina Sarhadi.
Sarhadi alleges Sane strangled and raped her at a motel in 2010, after they met at an Anti-Flag show at The Bell House in Brooklyn. She was the first of a dozen women to come forward with sexual misconduct claims against Sarhadi in July 2023, causing the avowedly “straight-edge,” pro-feminism band Anti-Flag to split up after 35 years.
Sane denied Sarhadi’s claims as “categorically false” back in 2023, but he never took any action in the lawsuit. Judge Brenda K. Sannes has therefore entered default judgment against Sane, a legal outcome where defendants are found to have effectively admitted to the claims against them by failing to respond despite repeated warnings.
The Tuesday order requires Sane to pay Sarhadi $1.9 million in damages, including $750,000 for pain and suffering and $420,800 for the costs of therapy to address post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety stemming from the 2010 rape.
“It is well-documented through the supporting affidavits that plaintiff has suffered extreme emotional distress and a complete upending of her life, as evidenced by her symptoms which have persisted fifteen years since the date of the attack,” writes Judge Sannes.
The damages figure also includes $750,000 in punitive damages, which a judge can institute to punish or deter a defendant for behavior that’s beyond the pale.
“The sexual violence committed by the defendant undeniably constitutes morally reprehensible or utterly reckless behavior making a punitive damage award proper,” writes the judge. “Defendant sexually assaulted plaintiff and shattered her emotional well-being, causing life-long ramifications years after the attack.”
“Defendant’s conduct is even more morally reprehensible because he used his fame and status to lure a much younger fan into his hotel room under false pretenses,” adds Judge Sannes.
Sane could not be reached for comment on Friday (July 25). Sarhadi’s attorney did not return a request for comment on the judgment.
Sarhadi’s lawsuit originally alleged that the other former members of Anti-Flag — Chris Head, Chris Barker and Pat Thetic — should have known about Sane’s repeated sexual misconduct but failed to put a stop to it. But Judge Sannes dismissed Sarhadi’s claims against Anti-Flag’s corporate entity, Hardwork Distribution Inc., this past December after finding that she had not adequately pled negligence on the band’s part.
Stuart Slotnick, a lawyer representing Head, Barker and Thetic, told Billboard on Friday that his clients “have had no contact with Geever at all (nor do they wish to)” since the sexual assault allegations came to light.
“They were shocked to hear the complaints,” Slotnick says. “We were very happy that the judge recognized that the three former members of the band had nothing to do with Geever or his misdeeds.”
