By Ali Rampling and Henry Bushnell
Publication Date: 2025-11-18 23:14:00
Football agent Jonathan Barnett is under criminal investigation in London after being accused of rape, torture and trafficking, US court documents have confirmed.
In July, a woman referred to only as Jane Doe filed a civil complaint against Barnett, 75, in a California district court. The complaint claims Barnett raped the woman more than 39 times after she was “trafficked” from Australia, of which she is a citizen, to the United Kingdom in 2017.
The lawsuit says the Briton then “tortured” her for a period of six years until 2023, while keeping her as a “sex slave.” Barnett denies the allegations.
In documents filed in the Court for the Central District of California, dated November 17, Barnett’s attorneys confirmed that the alleged victim filed criminal charges against Barnett in London and that the investigation is ongoing.
“Following the termination of the relationship, in 2024, the plaintiff filed a criminal charge against Barnett in London, England (the investigation of which is currently pending),” the document reads.
Barnett’s lawyers have filed a statement in an attempt to have the civil suit against the agent dismissed in the United States, saying any contact between Barnett and the woman was in the United Kingdom.
Documents from Barnett’s attorneys state that from June 2017 to September 2021, the woman and Barnett had a “consensual personal relationship.” Barnett admitted paying the woman more than £1,000,000 after the relationship ended.
“When my relationship with the plaintiff ended in or around September 2021, she threatened to publicly reveal the relationship unless I paid her significant sums of money,” Barnett says in a statement. “As a result of those threats I paid the claimant over a number of years and ultimately paid her well in excess of £1,000,000.”
A Metropolitan Police statement from earlier this year said: “On Saturday 29 March, at approximately 10.52am, a 75-year-old man was arrested when his flight landed at Heathrow Airport.
“He was arrested on suspicion of rape and causing grievous bodily harm.
“He has been released on bail. Investigations into the circumstances continue.”
Barnett’s former employer, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), is also named in the US lawsuit.
A CAA spokesperson said The Athletic in July: “While the complaint attempts to connect these allegations to CAA’s business, Ms. Doe has never been an employee, consultant or contractor of CAA, ICM or Stellar, nor has she had any business connection with CAA, ICM or Stellar. Mr. Barnett exited Stellar in February 2024.”
Barnett enjoyed a successful career in football as one of the most high-profile agents in the sport before retiring last year. He founded Stellar Group before it was bought by ICM Partners and then acquired by CAA, and helped negotiate then-world-record Gareth Bale’s transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in 2013.
He also represented players such as Jack Grealish, Jordan Pickford and Ashley Cole, while one of Barnett’s first clients outside of football was legendary West Indies cricketer Brian Lara.
