Former protege sues The-Dream, accusing the hitmaking music producer of sexual assault

By ANDREW DALTON
AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former protege of The-Dream, the Grammy-winning writer and producer on some of biggest hits by Beyoncé and Rihanna, has filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and other abuse. Chanaaz Mangroe, who performed under the stage name Channii Monroe, alleges in her lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court that the producer, whose legal name is Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, lured her into a “manipulative relationship filled with physical assaults, violent sexual encounters, and horrific psychological manipulation” after she left her native Netherlands for the U.S. in 2014 with hopes of making it big as a singer. In a statement to the New York Times, Gesteelde-Diamant called the allegations “untrue and defamatory.”