Garth Brooks’ sexual assault case gets major update

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Garth Brooks is trying to change course in the sexual assault case against him.

Last month, an anonymous woman referred to as “Jane Roe” filed a lawsuit in California state court against Brooks, 62, accusing him of sexual assault and battery that she claims took place in 2019. The individual alleges that she started as a hair and makeup artist in 1999 for Brooks’ wife, country singer Trisha Yearwood, before being hired by Brooks in 2017.

Entertainment tonight reported that Brooks’ attorneys were making moves to move his case from California Superior Court to federal court. Legal expert Tre Lovell explained to the outlet that the case is eligible to be transferred to federal court since the singer-songwriter is from Tennessee, the plaintiff is from Mississippi and the amount she is suing for exceeds $75,000.

Lovell broke down the merits of moving the case to federal court for the “Friends in Low Places” singer. “It’s probably easier to seal records. You usually get a faster trial date. Judges are more amenable to dismissing a case. Los Angeles tends to be more of a minority jury pool; in federal court you have a broader jury vote , and a broader jury vote, I think, would also help Garth in this case,” Lovell said.

The individual’s lawsuit accuses Brooks of raping her in a hotel room in Los Angles on a business trip. In another case, the person says she was at Brooks’ house for work and he got out of the shower naked and then forced her to touch him. The person also claimed the Oklahoma native made “repeated” remarks about his desire to have a threesome with Yearwood.

The person also recently released text messages between her and her former employer. According to court documents obtained by Us Weeklythe country superstar could have “used more than one cell phone and would sometimes use different ‘names’ and email addresses to communicate with Ms. Roe. He would tell Ms. Roe in advance that he would be the one sending her communications, under a different name.”

The two-time Grammy Award winner has vehemently denied the allegations against him, claiming the lawsuit is a way for the individual to extort money from him. In an October announcement to Newsweekwrote Brooks, “For the past two months I have been bombarded with threats, lies and tragic stories about what my future would be if I didn’t write a multi-million dollar check. It’s been like having a loaded gun pointed at my face.”

Brooks has been married to Yearwood, 60, since 2005. He has three daughters from his previous marriage to Sandy Mahl: Taylor, 32, Augusta, 30, and Allie, 28.