Brand New frontman Jesse Lacey accused of sexual misconduct with a minor

The allegations were made by a woman on Facebook.

November 11, 2017
Brand New frontman Jesse Lacey accused of sexual misconduct with a minor Photo by Brandon Sloter

Brand New singer and guitarist Jesse Lacey is currently facing a sexual misconduct accusation. The news broke in a series of detailed comments within a public thread posted on Facebook by a guitar tech named Brian Diaz's about Lacey's inappropriate and predatory behavior. Nicole Elizabeth Garey claims that Lacey started requesting nudes from her over AIM when she was 15 years old and forced her to watch him masturbate on Skype.

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"He solicited nudes from me starting when I was 15 and he was 24. Manipulated the hell out of me, demanded specific poses/settings/clothing, demeaned me, and made it clear that my sexuality was the only thing I had to offer," she wrote. "He knew what he was doing was shitty so he wouldn’t touch me until I was 19. I should’ve known better by then, but he had screwed me up so much psychologically that all I wanted was his approval. It fucked me up to the point that I STILL have nightmares and wakeup in a sweat. I still breakdown and have panic attacks when people play Brand New in a bar. JESSE LACEY IS A PIECE OF SHIT."

Garey also stated that she took screen shots that support her claims, but is not ready to release them at this time. She told Alternative Press that this exchange began in 2002 after she met Lacey at a Brand New holiday show in Buffalo, New York and continued on and off for seven or eight years.

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“He would disappear for a while and then pop back up—either it was email or instant messenger,” Garey said. “It was him sending requests for the most part. It was never really violent or upfront; it was always just very… underhanded and manipulative, in a psychological way.”

Apparently, this is not the first time that Garey has publicly spoken up about Lacey though. “I’ve made comments on my friend Brian’s posts several times about it,” she added. “It always seemed like no one was really listening. When I commented that, I was very angry. It’s been 15 years.” She decided to come forward again to encourage other women to come out of the darkness because they are not alone.

“I hope this shows men that this won’t be swept under the rug anymore, because it happens," she said. "I have a daughter of 2, and it’s hard to look at her and just think about it happening to her. Hopefully for her and everyone we can stop the cycle.”

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A representative for Brand New was not immediately available for comment. This story will be updated as more information is provided.

Update 11/11/2017 10:20pm EST: Jesse Lacey has posted a statement on Facebook in response to the allegations.

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Brand New frontman Jesse Lacey accused of sexual misconduct with a minor