Crystal Castles’ Ethan Kath reportedly under investigation for sex crimes

December 21, 2017

Following accusations that surfaced earlier this year from former bandmate Alice Glass, a new accuser has come forward claiming Crystal Castles' Ethan Kath had sexual relations with her while she was underage.

The Daily Beast have reported that the Toronto Police Service have confirmed that there is an active investigation against Ethan Kath, whose real name is Claudio Palmieri, at this time.

“At this point we are able to confirm that there is an investigation. However, because of the nature of the investigation, and for the privacy of the alleged victims, there isn’t anything else that we can say pertaining to it,” Police Constable Allyson Douglas-Cook told The Daily Beast regarding the Sex Crimes unit’s investigation into Kath.

The police were unable to confirm whether or not they're looking into multiple victims at this point, although “a source with knowledge of the investigation” reportedly told The Daily Beast that the investigation involves complaints “from several women.”

The Daily Beast talked to one of the accusers, who says Kath reached out to her on social media when she was 15 and “initiated a sexual relationship” when she was 16.

“I want this guy’s insane horrible mistreatment of underage girls to be out in the open for everyone to know and to protect themselves,” she anonymously told the news source.

Back in October, Glass shared an emotional statement as to why she has to leave Crystal Castles, detailing years of abuse from Kath.

Glass explains in her original statement that she met Kath when she was 15, and he was 10 years older than her at the time. She explains that he showed abuse and controlling behavior, which lasted for years. Through the physical and emotional abuse, she explains that she had felt suicidal, and even after leaving Crystal Castles, she’s still recovering from the decade of abuse and manipulation.

Leaving Crystal Castles was the single most difficult decision I’ve ever made—that band was everything to me. My music, my performances and my fans were all I had in the world. I gave that up and started over not because I wanted to but because I had to. As difficult as it was, I knew that leaving was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It has taken me years to recover from enduring almost a decade of abuse, manipulation and psychological control. I am still recovering.

You can read Glass’ statement in full here.

Kath later sued Glass for defamation over her accusations, calling the allegations “false claims.”

Glass left Crystal Castles in October 2014. At the time, she said, “For a multitude of reasons both professional and personal I no longer feel that this is possible within CC.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault or abuse, there is help to be found. Please consider these online resources:
A Voice For The Innocent – http://www.avoicefortheinnocent.org
Anti Violence Project (serves LGBT) – https://avp.org
Punk Talks – https://www.punktalks.org
National Sexual Assault Hotline – 800.656.4673
National Sexual Violence Resource Center – https://www.nsvrc.org