Sergio Andrade
Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi has filed a lawsuit against her former manager and music producer Sergio Andrade, claiming he was a “true predator” who subjected Trevi and other girls to “total control and sadistic abuse” in the late 1980s and 1990s.
The filing also serves as a counter-lawsuit to the complaint filed Dec. 30, 2022, by two Jane Does who sued Trevi and Andrade for “grooming” and “exploiting” them when they were between the ages of 13 and 15 in the early 1990s.
Now, Trevi — who has for many years categorically denied such claims — alleges in the lawsuit, filed Dec. 27 in Los Angeles, that she is also one of Andrade’s victims. According to Trevi’s suit, Andrade took advantage of his position as a successful music executive often called “Mr. Midas” for being able to recognize and promote young, female artists promising them to turn them into stars.
“That position allowed him to draw many young girls into his sphere of influence, who gathered around him in the hopes that he would guide, mentor, and launch their careers in entertainment, as he had previously done for others,” the lawsuit reads. “But once these young girls and women had been drawn into his sphere by dreams of stardom, he subjected them to total control and sadistic abuse – mental, financial, physical, and sexual. Ms. Trevi was one of those young women.”
According to Trevi’s lawsuit, the “Todos Me Miran” singer met Andrade as a child just as she was gaining recognition in Mexico as a singer, and soon he took over her career. “But Andrade also recognized Ms. Trevi as an isolated and vulnerable girl who was easy prey to his manipulation, control, and abuse,” Trevi’s lawsuit claims. “He took full advantage, subjecting the rising child superstar that he had taken on to grotesque abuse calculated to break her spirit.”
The filing includes graphic allegations, such as Trevi being “brutally beaten” by Andrade, at times to the point of unconsciousness, that she was sexually assaulted by him and raped repeatedly. The abuse inflicted by Andrade “eventually drove Ms. Trevi to attempt suicide,” the suit states.
Trevi, who is being represented by Johnny Depp’s former attorney Camille M. Vásquez, explained in a statement to Billboard that she chose to take legal action to fight for justice. “No one should have to go through what I experienced and I am determined to hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions,” she expressed.
Vásquez added, “Our client, Gloria Trevi, has shown great strength and courage in stepping forward and filing this counterclaim. We are fully prepared to present our case and seek justice on her behalf.”
Trevi’s legal woes resurface more than 20 years after Trevi, Andrade and backup singer María Raquenel Portillo, also known as Mary Boquitas, were arrested in January 2000 in Rio de Janeiro for allegedly luring young girls into a cult-like pornographic ring. Former vocalist Karina Yapor, who filed criminal charges against the so-called “Trevi-Andrade clan,” alleged that backup recruits wanting to join the band were forced to have sexual relations with Andrade.
In 2004, Trevi was acquitted by a judge and found not guilty on charges of rape, kidnapping and corruption of minors. This resulted in Trevi’s immediate release from prison in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Trevi’s new lawsuit comes six days after a judge dismissed Portillo’s defamation claims against the two Jane Does after she was sued alongside Trevi and Andrade.
Read Gloria Trevi’s counterclaim below:
Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi is facing a new lawsuit over a decades-old claim of sexual assault against two minors.
In a civil complaint filed in Los Angeles on Friday (Dec. 30), two Jane Does allege the singer-songwriter and her ex-producer, Sergio Andrade, “groomed” and “exploited” them when they were between the ages of 13 and 15 back in the early 1990s.
The lawsuit, independently obtained by Billboard and first reported on Wednesday by Rolling Stone, does not specifically name Trevi or Andrade — listing them only as anonymous Doe defendants — but based on the timeline of events and the details of the albums included in the suit, it’s clear that Trevi and Andrade are the defendants.
According to the plaintiffs, Trevi and Andrade used their “role, status, and power as a well-known and successful Mexican pop star and a famous producer” to coerce sexual contact with them over a course of years, much of it occurring in California. As a result of the sexual harassment, abuse and assault, the Plaintiffs have “suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological distress, including humiliation, shame, and guilt.”
The 30-page lawsuit, which includes claims of childhood sexual abuse, harassment and/or assault, was filed just days before the expiration of California’s Child Victims Act, which temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for sexual abuse lawsuits. After a three-year window of availability, the deadline to file such long-delayed lawsuits was Dec. 31, 2022.
The new allegations against the “Todos Me Miran” singer come nearly 20 years after she was acquitted by a judge and found not guilty on charges of rape, kidnapping and corruption of minors. This resulted in the immediate release of Trevi, who was being held at a prison in Chihuahua, Mexico and faced up to 25 years behind bars.
The previous trial occurred after Trevi, Andrade and backup singer María Raquenel Portillo, also known as Mary Boquitas, were arrested in January 2000 in Rio de Janeiro for allegedly luring young girls into a cult-like pornographic ring. Former vocalist Karina Yapor, who filed criminal charges against the so-called Trevi clan, alleged that backup recruits wanting to join the band were forced to have sexual relations with Andrade.
A representative for Trevi declined a request for comment.
Read the entire lawsuit here:
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