Ricky Garcia, a member of the 2010s boy band Forever in Your Mind, was managed by producer Joby Harte, who landed them a deal with Disney, which included a TV show and music.
As the band gained popularity and began touring, Garcia’s mom trusted Harte enough to look out for her son. Harte also paid for the duo’s rent and helped them out with their bills, “blurring the line between what was personal and professional,” according to Garcia.
The group, plus Harte, headed to Catalina for a week to work on music, where Harte plied them with alcohol. The band’s other members remember seeing Harte take Garcia into the bathroom and locking the door.
“It was my first time getting blackout drunk. I was in and out of a daze,” recalled Garcia. “When I woke up in Catalina, I was completely naked under the covers, and Joby came in the room, smirking at me like it was a funny thing. I came to find out that Joby bathed me.” Garcia had no memory of the incident, stating Harte could’ve “done anything.”
The pattern continued. “I liked the party lifestyle — I’d get sick, and he’d say, ‘OK, you can take a shower,’” said Garcia. “And then he’d come in the shower with me because we were ‘buddy-buddy,’ but there were just moments when he’d touch me down there. And he would try to… I would freeze up. I didn’t know what to do, didn’t want to make the situation uncomfortable for both of us. So, I just went along with it.”
Garcia did not mention it to anyone until Alli Nadine, the band’s talent management assistant, realized something was wrong and, after a lot of coaxing, he told her the truth. Later, Garcia confronted Harte at his house, telling him, “You molested me.”
Garcia filed a civil suit against Harte in 2019, unable to file a criminal suit due to the lack of evidence. The case finally went to court in 2024, where Harte claimed Garcia was coerced into lying by Nadine, who was upset that she had been fired and was seeking financial retribution. Harte was found guilty and was ordered to pay $6 million to Garcia, who says he hasn’t received a dime to date, thanks to Harte filing for bankruptcy before the trial.
Garcia and Nadine got married in 2023, and are expecting their first child together.
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