Former Christian music singer Stacie Orrico has accused her ex-manager of grooming, sexually assaulting, and exploiting her as a minor.
Orrico, 39, known for early 2000s hits including Stuck and (There’s Gotta Be) More to Life, filed a civil lawsuit against Britt Ham, previously associated with her management company Rocketown, as well as Universal Music Group, ForeFront Records, and other entities.
The suit alleges Ham sexually assaulted Orrico between the ages of 13 and 17, and that corporate organisations responsible for overseeing her career failed to protect her.
“The Christian music industry ‘discovered’ twelve-year-old Stacie Orrico, exploited her and destroyed her innocence,” the complaint states.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Orrico said the music industry "failed to protect me when I was a little girl."
"It has taken me years to become strong enough — but I am ready to fight for every young and innocent person who has been, and continues to be, abused in the music industry and in the Church," she added.
The complaint claims Ham abused Orrico over several years and that defendants prioritized reputational and financial interests over confronting the behavior.
“Plaintiff Stacie Joy Orrico was an innocent and joyful child, full of dreams, one of which was to become a singer,” the complaint reads.
"That dream — and her childhood, adolescence and entire life — were permanently threatened and profoundly altered by the trauma she endured as a result of sexual abuse and exploitation while she was a minor child and a professional musical artist under Defendants’ control, supervision, and authority."
Orrico has undergone years of therapy and personal struggle, and is seeking accountability for the “abuse, exploitation and profound harm she suffered," the complaint says.
Orrico was 12 when she won a Christian music competition and was scouted by Ham, who worked for Rocketown Management LLC and later became her manager.
Her debut album was released in 2000. The complaint alleges Ham sexually assaulted her for the first time later that year during a business trip to Los Angeles, when she was 14.
According to the suit, Ham assaulted Orrico a second and third time in 2001, when she was 15. He allegedly had sex with her in 2003, when she was 17.
The complaint says Orrico suffered anxiety, depression, and panic attacks as a result, and her music career came to an “abrupt end."
"Stacie's case is a chilling account of a child whose love for God and whose extraordinary talent drew the attention of an industry that saw profit, not protection," said Mo Hamoudi, one of Orrico's lawyers, in a statement to PEOPLE. "Instead of safeguarding her, they allowed her to be abused while others made money, leaving her exposed to the darkest corners of their own system."
Ham and the other defendants have not issued statements in response to the filing.
