The sexual assault claims against Anti-Flag frontman Justin “Sane” Geever in 2023 marked the beginning of a mind-boggling downfall for the Pittsburgh punk band. Now, a civil lawsuit against Geever has resulted in a judgment for his most prominent alleged victim, Kristina Sarhadi, despite the musician fleeing the country.
According to a press release shared by Sarhadi’s legal team, on July 22, a federal judge issued a default judgment against Geever, awarding nearly $2 million to Sarhadi. The release said Geever was found “civilly liable for assault and battery/sexual battery after he failed to respond to the lawsuit” in Kristina Sarhadi v. Justin Cathal Geever, No. 1:24-cv-00031 (BKS/PJE), United States District Court, Northern District of New York.
Sarhadi will receive $1.17 million in compensatory damages and an additional $750,000 in punitive damages, for a total judgment of $1,920,800. In awarding the damages, the court cited “severe and permanent psychological, mental, and emotional injuries” Sarhadi sustained as a result of Geever’s attack, including “C-PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, anxiety, night terrors, and suicidal ideation.” This was determined with testimony and documentation, including from multiple doctors, a trauma specialist, and a clinical psychologist.
The judgment stems from a 2023 podcast during which Sarhadi recounted being violently raped by an unnamed musician in 2010. This led Redditors to determine that Geever was the perpetrator.
The day the podcast episode featuring Sarhadi was released, Anti-Flag suddenly deleted their online presence, including social media accounts and a Patreon, and announced their breakup. Official statements were released, first by Geever’s “shocked, confused, saddened and absolutely heartbroken” fellow bandmates, Pat “Thetic” Bollinger, Chris “#2” Barker, and Chris Head, then by Geever, who claimed the accusations were false.
On the court’s decision, Sarhadi said, “If I can encourage one other person to seek support instead of suffering in silence, this 15-year-long process has been worth it.”
Though Sarhadi came forward more than 10 years after the alleged assault, she was able to pursue a lawsuit against Geever because of the Adult Survivors Act. Enacted in May 2022, the amendment to New York state law allowed alleged victims of sexual offenses for which the statute of limitations had lapsed to file civil suits for a one-year period, from Nov. 24, 2022, to Nov. 24, 2023.
The judgment follows an amended complaint filed by Sarhadi’s legal team, the law firm McAllister Olivarius, in March 2024, which, at the time, claimed Geever fled the country to avoid facing “mounting legal pressure” after more than a year of “purposefully and unlawfully attempting to avoid service” of Sarhadi’s initial lawsuit. It goes on to claim that Geever had “sold his Pittsburgh home to his long-time girlfriend” and attempted to hide his assets by transferring funds overseas to a bank in Ireland, where he maintains dual citizenship.
Geever, who grew up in Shaler, also named his sister, Mary B. Geever, a practicing lawyer, as his power of attorney in his absence, but “neither have responded to Sarhadi’s suit” in the two years since it was filed.
The lawsuit originally focused on Geever, but was amended to include his bandmates and Anti-Flag’s company, Hardwork Distribution LLC, as being liable, claiming that they knowingly enabled Geever and also engaged in predatory behavior towards female fans. However, the music news website Loudwire reported that, on Dec. 18, 2024, a Northern District of New York judge dismissed that portion of the lawsuit.
The court described Geever’s conduct as “morally reprehensible,” stating that he “used his fame and status” to lure Sarhadi, then an avid Anti-Flag fan, to his hotel room, where the alleged assault occurred. Sarhadi has claimed that she felt safe with Geever due to his and the band’s feminist messaging, which included song lyrics and interviews condemning violence against women.
The accusations and Anti-Flag’s sudden split led to a damning article by Rolling Stone detailing Geever’s purported history of assaulting women going back to the 1990s. According to the piece, 12 additional women came forward with accusations of “predatory behavior, sexual assault, and statutory rape, including sexual relations with a 12-year-old when Geever was a teenager.”
In a statement sent via email, Sarhadi tells Pittsburgh City Paper, “Closure is only possible with finality. The outcome of my legal case brings a profound sense of personal validation and relief, but I am not naive. Women around the world who report they were also harmed by Geever are still waiting for their opportunity to seek justice. If my case helps to draw attention to these issues, and especially if it helps another victim see a path forward or feel less alone, I celebrate that. But I don’t believe the fight is even close to over.”
James Wood, the press and marketing director for McAllister Olivarius, tells City Paper via email that, in collecting payment from Geever in light of his disappearance, “there are several avenues that can be pursued, including income execution, attachments on personal and real property, restraining notice, and eventually for the sale of property. Beyond this, there are clearly royalties being earned on the music, and Geever is likely to be receiving payment of these royalties.”
To where exactly Geever has fled, Wood adds that “they are actively investigating the matter.”
Jef McAllister, managing partner at McAllister Olivarius, tells CP that, overall, they have to “jump through a lot of hoops to figure out what [Geever’s] assets are and seize them to the degree that the law permits.”
McAllister adds, “I have every confidence that he already knows about the judgment and the court’s decision.”
The case and subsequent judgment add to a growing awareness of abuse within various music scenes, especially against female artists and fans. High-profile cases against rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and R&B artist R. Kelly, which include allegations of sex crimes against women and girls, have dominated the media. In 2022, multiple people accused Win Butler of the Grammy Award-winning indie band Arcade Fire of predatory grooming and sexual assault.
In recent years, the Vans Warped Tour, a major annual music festival at which Anti-Flag performed numerous times, came under fire for platforming bands accused of sexual misconduct, especially against minors, and for not supporting female acts who claimed they were sexually harassed or assaulted by male tour mates. (One account from the Rolling Stone article involves a woman who alleges that, in 2009, when she was 16 years old, a then 36-year-old Geever made sexual advances towards her at a Warped Tour show in Maryland.)
Dr. Ann Olivarius, Sarhadi’s lawyer, believes the ruling against Geever has larger implications.
“I predict that in five years the music industry will be viewed the same way as the Catholic Church or the Boy Scouts — a powerful force that also enabled and shielded sexual predators for decades,” Olivarius said in a statement. “‘Drugs, sex [and] rock ‘n roll’ was a reality that meant a lot of young women got abused. The bands had handlers who made it all happen and executives who covered it all up because so much money depended on it. Brave survivors like Kristina are finding their voice, and there are lots of them now coming forward.”
Correction: The word “settlement” was changed to “judgment” for legal accuracy.
This article appears in Jul 23-29, 2025.
