(CA)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
January 9, 2026
By Mark A. Kellner
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual acts and may be triggering for some readers.
Christian music singer Stacie Joy Orrico has filed a lawsuit, accusing her ex-manager Britt Ham of sexually abusing her as a minor. She also claimed the music industry failed to protect her during events in California.
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges Ham committed acts of childhood sexual assault against Orrico, starting when she was 14. It also names Universal Music Group as a defendant, asserting the company is liable as successor to Orrico’s former label, ForeFront Records, for negligence and failure to supervise.
Orrico seeks unspecified damages and demands a jury trial.
“After the Christian music industry ‘discovered’ twelve-year-old Stacie Orrico, it exploited her and destroyed her innocence,” the lawsuit states.
In a statement released through her attorneys, Orrico added, “The music industry failed to protect me when I was a little girl. It has taken me years to become strong enough — but I am ready to fight for every young and innocent person who has been, and continues to be, abused in the music industry and in the Church.”
The complaint describes Orrico as “an innocent and joyful child, full of dreams, one of which was to become a singer.”
“Stacie’s case is a chilling account of a child whose love for God and whose extraordinary talent drew the attention of an industry that saw profit, not protection. Instead of safeguarding her, they allowed her to be abused while others made money, leaving her exposed to the darkest corners of their own system,” said one of Orrico’s lawyers, Mo Hamoudi, an attorney with Stritmatter Law, Seattle, Washington.
Her life was “permanently threatened and profoundly altered by the trauma she endured as a result of sexual abuse … while she was a minor child and a professional musical artist under (Ham’s) control,” the suit stated.
Orrico, now 39 and residing in Savannah, Georgia, rose to fame in the early 2000s as a teen artist in the Christian music scene.
Her debut album “Genuine” was released in 2000 and went gold. A 2001 album “Christmas Wish” peaked at No. 26 on the U.S. Top Holiday Albums chart. In 2003, Orrico’s self-titled album achieved mainstream success and produced international hits such as “Stuck” and “There’s Gotta Be More to Life.”
According to the complaint, Orrico’s entry into the industry began in 1998 when, at age 12, she attended the “Praise in the Rockies” Christian music festival in Colorado. She won a talent competition judged by Ham and Eddie DeGarmo, an executive at ForeFront.
DeGarmo introduced himself to Orrico and her father, expressing interest in signing her, while Ham later contacted her parents to discuss her future.
The lawsuit alleges Orrico’s Christian parents “naively believed she was safe because everyone involved identified as Christian.” It claims they were “completely mistaken,” as the industry demanded she abandon school for 12- to 16-hour workdays and failed to safeguard her from abuse during travel, including to California for promotional activities.
In early 1999, when Orrico was 13, she and her parents negotiated and signed an Exclusive Songwriter Agreement and a Performance and Recording Services Agreement with EMI Christian Music Group and ForeFront.
Ham, then working for Rocketown Management LLC, which later transitioned to Britt Huston Entertainment LLC around 2002, became her manager. Though not a party to the contracts, Ham “knew” ForeFront executives DeGarmo and Greg Ham well and acted as an intermediary.
The complaint emphasizes the defendants’ use of Orrico’s faith in her marketing: “From the beginning, the Defendants placed significant emphasis on Plaintiff’s Christian faith and it was always clear that she was being signed as a Christian child artist.”
It alleges they advised her that “her Christian image was integral to their management, packaging and promotion of her musical career” and that they “intended for Plaintiff to appeal to Christian audiences.”
Orrico’s image as a “wholesome, innocent child,” contrasted with secular artists, the lawsuit says, benefiting the defendants’ interests. The suit accuses the defendants of not intervening when Ham “crossed boundaries” by providing “daily (B)ible study reading assignments,” reviewing them with her, positioning himself as a spiritual adviser without “checks and balances.”
The filing details how the defendants presented Ham as a “trusted member of the Fore(F)ront family and broader Christian music industry family.” Orrico and her family met with DeGarmo in September 1998 to discuss her career. And Ham participated in label meetings, family gatherings, prayers, and professional activities.
This led Orrico to believe Ham was “sanctioned and supervised by the label,” granting the manager “unsupervised access” during tours and hotel stays, including in California.
The lawsuit alleges this “apparent agency” enabled Ham to “exploit his position and facilitated the sexual abuse and exploitation.” It claims the abuse occurred while Orrico was on a tour bus at age 14 and during travel to promote mutual interests. It says the industry disregarded “signs of abuse” and abandoned her when it surfaced.
Causes of action include negligence; negligent supervision and failure to warn; negligent failure to warn, train or educate; sexual battery; gender violence; childhood sexual abuse; and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The complaint invokes recent California laws allowing survivors of childhood sexual assault to file claims later in life, noting such trauma often delays reporting.
“Stacie sang songs of worship, lightness, hope, and joy. Yet her life no longer reflected a sheltered, morally centered upbringing,” the filing states. It accuses the “Christian music industry” of exploiting its authority over a “vulnerable child” and the trust of her parents, leading to “lasting physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual injuries.”
Ham, now residing in Dallas, Texas, is named individually. Universal Music Group, based in Santa Monica, California, is accused as successor to EMI and its subsidiaries, including ForeFront, under doctrines of alter ego, successor liability and agency. The lawsuit also names Does 5 through 30 as unidentified parties potentially liable.
Attempts to reach Ham and Universal Music Group for comment were unsuccessful.
The case highlights ongoing scrutiny of the music industry’s handling of minors and other vulnerable people, echoing allegations in other high-profile lawsuits. It also comes less than a year after The Roys Report (TRR) exposed widespread sex abuse allegations, involving Christian music superstar Michael Tait.
Orrico largely stepped away from music in the mid-2000s after the release of “Stuck,” is asking a court to deliver justice.
“After years of therapy and personal struggle, and an attempt to reconcile her religious upbringing and the hell she was put through at the hands of her abusers, Plaintiff now brings this action to seek accountability,” the complaint says.
No trial date has been set.