When teenagers break up, it can be pretty dramatic.
For one teen, his high school romance popped back up to haunt him years later as he entered college:
Freshman Ari Grossman filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court saying his ex-girlfriend and current classmate Kalya Torrey started their vicious feud by lying that he raped her in order prevent him from attending Pace — his dream college.
Grossman said he and Torrey ended their Malibu, Calif., romance when they were 15 years old — but that they parted amicably. He had no idea there was bad blood until after he had been admitted to Pace’s acting program, which prompted Torrey’s parents to call his parents and demand he drop out, the lawsuit said.
After Grossman refused to drop out, Torrey asked the District Attorney’s office to bring charges, although none were filed, the lawsuit said. Torrey then filed for a temporary restraining order against Grossman, but the judge ordered the Malibu, Calif., residents to settle the case and they agreed to just stay away from each other, the lawsuit claimed.
Once at school, the situation escalated — with each side accusing the other of stalking and harassment.
Torrey filed so many complaints against Grossman in the first few weeks of school — seven between Sept. 4 and Sept. 11 — that the dean had to intervene and tell them to just cool it, Grossman’s suit says.
The final straw for Grossman came when his ex accused him of stalking her in the food hall in November — and he ended getting tossed in a cell for 12 hours with his legs and hands in shackles until he was freed.
Video evidence reportedly shows Grossman could not have been stalking her. Grossman is now suing the school and Torrey for having him arrested, and his attorney stated that the NYPD will be added to the suit as soon as the proper paperwork is filed.
If the above information is accurate, it presents what sure looks like a pattern of harassment against Grossman, a young man who simply wants to go on with his life. From the moment Torrey’s parents called to demand he drop out, it appears that Grossman has been under attack.
There were no claims made against Grossman at all in the years prior to the lawsuit.
Grossman, like all young men, goes to school in a world where any claim of wrongdoing against a man is automatically given credence even despite contradictory evidence. The only surprise here is that he’s still a student at Pace — other male students have found themselves kicked out of college following a single questionable complaint.
Let’s hope the lawsuit does some good and helps turn the tide of campuses facilitating this abuse of the legal system.
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