'Game of Thrones' star Joseph Gatt files $40M lawsuit against Los Angeles officials for arrest

Following his 2022 arrest for alleged sexual misconduct, "Game of Thrones" actor Joseph Gatt is suing the city of Los Angeles, police and key judicial figures for their handling of the case in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit.

In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court Central District of California Thursday, Gatt, 52, claims his April 2022 arrest for having "sexually explicit" online contact with a minor was based on fabricated evidence, and that when he tried to clear his name, he was threatened, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY.

The actor is suing for the alleged violation of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The lawsuit names former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Angela Brunson and the Los Angeles Police Department, among others as defendants in the case.

The "Dumbo" actor is seeking $40 million in damages and is requesting a jury trial.

'Game of Thrones' actor Joseph Gatt arrested for alleged explicit communication with minor in 2022

Gatt names Brunson, LA County District Attorney George Gascón, the LAPD, Detective Denos Amarantos, Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles as defendants for their involvement in Gatt’s case.

The actor, who played Thenn Warg on "Game of Thrones," was arrested in 2022 by detectives from the LAPD's Juvenile Division, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The actor was served a residential search warrant after the task force received a tip that he was allegedly engaging in "online sexually explicit communication with a minor across state lines." Gatt was reportedly released the same day on $5,000 bail.

In his 38-page complaint, the British actor alleges he was subjected to an "utterly baseless arrest, unlawful detention, unlawful search and seizure of property, and malicious prosecution" and that investigative efforts were allegedly based on "the uncorroborated word of a then-16-year-old, admittedly obsessed fan of Gatt."

USA TODAY has reached out to the LA district attorney's office and LAPD for comment.

Gatt is also suing for Monell Liability, claiming his arrest was caused by the LAPD and district attorney's office's "unconstitutional" policies and lack of training, which did not prevent prosecution for "transparently biased reasons."

Although charges against Gatt were dismissed in February, the actor claims his career was derailed after he was branded a "serial pedophile" for social media conversations with a minor that were "entirely fabricated." The teen is not identified in the lawsuit because she was a minor at the time of Gatt's arrest.

Joseph Gatt arrest: 'Game of Thrones' actor arrested for alleged sexual communication with minor

Gatt purportedly came into contact with the minor in October 2020 after the boyfriend of one of the teen's sisters purchased a Cameo video message from Gatt, in which the actor wished the teen a happy birthday, according to the lawsuit. In the months following Gatt's message, the minor allegedly messaged Gatt a few times via Instagram, and Gatt "responded in a manner that was wholly appropriate and consistent with typical celebrity-fan exchanges."

However, Gatt claims in the complaint that the teen later "manufactured fake conversations" between the two using Snapchat that were "sexual in nature and pure fantasy." One of the teen's older siblings then allegedly took pictures of the Snapchat conversations and emailed them to the Kent County, Washington Police Department in April 2021. The images were reportedly taken with a mobile phone and not directly submitted to police.

"Nobody with either the Kent County PD or Defendants bothered at the time to review or forensically examine Jane Doe's phone to verify whether these conversations were legitimate and actually took place or were instead simply fantasies concocted by an admittedly obsessed fan trying to trick or impress her friends, before recklessly destroying Gatt's career," the lawsuit reads.

After being approached by Kent County detectives, the minor was interviewed about her alleged communication with Gatt in May 2021, per the filing. During the interview, the teen acknowledged "she was a fan of and had a crush" on Gatt but also accused the actor of "engaging in electronic communications with her that were sexually explicit in nature."

Because Gatt was not a Washington resident, the case was referred to the LA district attorney and the LAPD. Deputy District Attorney Brunson and Amarantos, the LAPD detective, subsequently took over the investigation.

Joseph Gatt accuses LA prosecutors, detectives of arresting him without evidence

Gatt alleges Brunson had the actor "arrested, prosecuted and publicly branded as a pedophile, all without one iota of the electronic evidence needed to prosecute (him)," according to the lawsuit. He also claims Brunson knew him in a personal capacity and was harboring "personal bias and animosity toward him" during the investigation.

In April 2022, Detective Amarantos allegedly signed off on a criminal complaint and search warrant affidavit against Gatt under Gascón’s name, despite basing their investigation on "sparse and demonstratively untrustworthy information" collected by Washington law enforcement, according to the lawsuit.

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Gatt alleges the search of his residence following his arrest was a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights, due to a purported lack of probable cause and authorities' failure to "conduct any meaningful investigation into" the minor's electronic communications.

Joseph Gatt claims he was threatened, prevented from clearing name by DA's office

In a violation of his Fourteenth Amendment rights, the "Game of Thrones" actor also claims he was deprived of his "liberty and freedom of movement" during the investigation "as part of a series of threats, intimidation and coercion," which included a court order that prevented Gatt from making public statements about his case as a condition of his bail.

The actor later hired a private investigator and alleges that Brunson attempted to have his bail revoked and that the district attorney's office prevented Gatt and the investigator from presenting their findings on the investigation's flaws in court.

Based on findings from his private investigator, Gatt claims Brunson had a relationship with one of the key witnesses in his case and had previously known Gatt before she took on the investigation, through their mutual involvement in the LA high-performance sports car community. The actor says the district attorney was "desperate" to raise her profile in the community and resented Gatt for his left-leaning political beliefs.

A private forensic investigator hired by Gatt, through electronic data on the actor and minor's phones, found evidence that the child had "entirely manufactured" the allegations and photographed conversations, he claims. Gatt alleges the forensic investigator was not allowed to present his findings in court and that the investigator and actor were threatened with jail time if they made the findings public or spoke publicly about the district attorney's office or Brunson.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joseph Gatt lawsuit: 'Game of Thrones' star sues LA after 2022 arrest