Who is Joseph Gatt's girlfriend? 'Game of Thrones' star accused of engaging in 'sexually explicit' chats with minor could get 20 years
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Game of Thrones' star Joseph Gatt appeared in a Los Angeles criminal courtroom with his girlfriend Mercy Malick on Monday, October 2, after being charged with having sexually explicit chats online with a minor.
The 51-year-old British actor, who played the character of Thenn Warg in the HBO drama, is currently free on a $5,000 bail after he was arrested in April 2022 on a felony warrant for "contact with a minor for a sexual offense.”
During the hearing, the LA Superior Court judge Enrique Monguia announced that the case would continue on December 4 since prosecutor Michael Fern said "additional discovery is needed" to move forward, the Daily Mail reported.
Gatt and his long-time girlfriend have been vehemently refuting the accusations since his shocking arrest last year. The 51-year-old Malick is a renowned actor and writer, who has been living with Gatt since 2009.
What are the charges against Joseph Gatt?
The ‘Thor’ actor was arrested in April last year on an outstanding felony warrant for contact with a minor for a sexual offense.
He was served at his Beverley Hills residence after the ICAC Task Force received a tip that the actor was allegedly engaging in “online sexually explicit communication with a minor across state lines.”
Gatt was later charged with "contact with a minor for a sexual offense," for which he could face up to 10 years in prison. He also faces a second charge of felony possession of an assault weapon, which also carries a minimum 10-year sentence.
Gatt has pleaded not guilty to both charges at subsequent court appearances and, while he was granted $5,000 bail, he was also banned from spending any unsupervised time with minors, possessing pornography, and using social media unless it was for work purposes.
What did Joseph Gatt say about the allegations?
A week after his shocking arrest, Gatt took to Twitter to vehemently deny the allegations, stating that “I obviously want to address the absolutely horrifying and completely untrue allegations recently leveled against me.”
“They are 100% categorically wrong and reckless. I have confirmed errors and misleading information in today's press release. I am fully cooperating with police and LAPD to get to the bottom of this.”
“I look forward to clearing my good name. Thank you to all my friends and supporters who know that this is untrue and understand for legal reasons I cannot comment further on social media,” the London-born actor continued.
His raven-haired girlfriend also criticized the accusations on social media, labeling them as "beyond insane."
“So much love to everyone who has already reached out in support of Joe and myself,” Malick said, adding “Those who know us obviously know that the allegations leveled against him are insane.”