Photo Credit: Frank Schwichtenberg / CC by 4.0
Former Anti-Flag vocalist Justin Sane was ordered to pay his rape accuser $1.9 million after failing to respond to her allegations in court.
Punk band Anti-Flag’s former vocalist Justin Sane, whose real name is Justin Geever, has been ordered to pay his rape accuser $1.9 million after failing to appear and respond to her allegations in court. The band dissolved in the summer of 2023 after sexual assault allegations arose against Geever.
Rolling Stone found in September 2023 that 13 women had come forward with allegations against Geever. That November, his initial accuser, Kristina Sarhadi, filed a civil sexual assault lawsuit against him. But Geever proved difficult to serve with the filing and reportedly fled the United States. Sarhadi also sued the band for negligence, but that suit was ultimately dismissed.
Now, Geever has been ordered to pay Sarhadi $1.9 million, having been found liable by default for failing to respond to the allegations or appear in court. The verdict was handed down last Tuesday. Just Brenda K. Sannes granted Sarhadi $1,170,800 in damages, with a further $750,000 awarded for punitive damages. However, Judge Sannes denied Sarhadi’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
“Judge Sannes’ careful decision in my case feels like a beacon of hope in a time of emboldened misogyny and unchecked power,” said Sarhai. “While every survivor knows there is no appropriate compensation for the harms we’ve suffered, I am indescribably grateful for the opportunity to be witnessed and the validation of being believed.”
“I am no longer heartbroken by Geever’s betrayal,” she concludes. “I’m enraged that patterns of abuse like his continue to escalate in every arena, and more determined than ever to expose and disrupt them.”
According to Sarhadi’s complaint, Geever “strangled her, forced her to perform oral sex on him, and raped her” in a motel when she was 21 years old. The incident allegedly took place in 2010.
Sarhadi’s case was initially filed in a New York state court under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, but the case was transferred to a federal court at the beginning of 2024. The band confirmed the allegations against Geever contributed to their eventual dissolution. Geever has denied committing any assault, but numerous women have come forward to speak to Rolling Stone about his “predatory” behavior.
