Yesterday (February 13), singer-songwriter Ryan Adams was accused of emotional abuse, sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour by multiple women, including his ex-wife Mandy Moore and his former collaborator Phoebe Bridgers. As of yet, no charges have been lodged against Adams, though the FBI is now looking into claims that he allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with an underage fan.
According to a new piece from the New York Times, which also broke yesterday's story, the FBI is now working to determine whether or not Adams committed a crime.
Though an FBI official declined to share their name because they had not been authorized to talk about the case, they did confirm that their Crimes Against Children Squad will begin researching the crimes lodged against Adams. They also plan to interview the woman named in the Times to research her claims and determine if Adams committed a crime.
According to the Times, "If they find her account credible, they will take other investigative steps, which could include subpoenaing both her cellphone records and those of Adams from their service providers, the official said."
In the initial piece, a woman speaking under the pseudonym Ava claimed that Adams started an online relationship with her in 2013 when she was only 14. As time went on, she said that her relationship with Adams turned sexual.
After DMing on Twitter, the pair became friends on text message. Over a nine-month period, when Ava was 15 and 16, the pair exchanged 3,000 text messages. Some of the messages allegedly included explicit images of Ava. Further, she claimed that Adams exposed himself on camera while the two engaged in phone sex.
"Do me a paranoid favor," Adams allegedly wrote Ava in November 2014, when he was 40 and she was 16. "Show me you are 18." Adams said he feared that he would be compared to R. Kelly if their correspondence was leaked.
Adams' lawyer, Andrew B. Brettler, said, "Mr. Adams unequivocally denies that he ever engaged in inappropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage."
According to a new piece from the New York Times, which also broke yesterday's story, the FBI is now working to determine whether or not Adams committed a crime.
Though an FBI official declined to share their name because they had not been authorized to talk about the case, they did confirm that their Crimes Against Children Squad will begin researching the crimes lodged against Adams. They also plan to interview the woman named in the Times to research her claims and determine if Adams committed a crime.
According to the Times, "If they find her account credible, they will take other investigative steps, which could include subpoenaing both her cellphone records and those of Adams from their service providers, the official said."
In the initial piece, a woman speaking under the pseudonym Ava claimed that Adams started an online relationship with her in 2013 when she was only 14. As time went on, she said that her relationship with Adams turned sexual.
After DMing on Twitter, the pair became friends on text message. Over a nine-month period, when Ava was 15 and 16, the pair exchanged 3,000 text messages. Some of the messages allegedly included explicit images of Ava. Further, she claimed that Adams exposed himself on camera while the two engaged in phone sex.
"Do me a paranoid favor," Adams allegedly wrote Ava in November 2014, when he was 40 and she was 16. "Show me you are 18." Adams said he feared that he would be compared to R. Kelly if their correspondence was leaked.
Adams' lawyer, Andrew B. Brettler, said, "Mr. Adams unequivocally denies that he ever engaged in inappropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage."
