Game of Thrones star Joseph Gatt appeared in a Los Angeles criminal courtroom Monday, charged with having sexually explicit chats online with a minor.
Sporting his trademark shiny, bald pate and wearing a black shirt and brown pants, the British actor, 51, was seen arriving with his long-time girlfriend, actress and writer Mercy Malick.
Gatt, who played Thenn Warg on the popular HBO fantasy series, remains free on bail after his arrest on an outstanding felony warrant for ‘contact with a minor for a sexual offense in LA on April 2022.
Joseph Gatt, 51, was seen arriving in court in Los Angeles on Monday with long-time girlfriend, actress and writer Mercy Malick
Sporting his trademark shiny, bald pate and wearing a black shirt and brown pants, the British actor, 51, will return to court in December after prosecutors determined ‘additional discovery is needed’ during the hearing
Joseph Gatt with girlfriend Mercy at the 2019 ‘The Boys’ TV show premiere, Comic-Con International, San Diego
The LA Superior Court judge presiding over the case, Judge Enrique Monguia, said the hearing would continue on December 4 after prosecutor Michael Fern told him that ‘additional discovery is needed’ for the case to move forward.
It’s been 18 months since Gatt was arrested in LA and his home was searched by police officers of the Juvenile Division, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, armed with a search warrant.
He was charged with ‘contact with a minor for sexual offense’ and he also faces a second charge of felony possession of an assault weapon.
He pleaded not guilty to both charges at subsequent court appearances and, while he was granted $5,000 bail, he was also banned from unsupervised time with minors, possessing pornography, and using social media unless it’s for work purposes.
A week after his arrest, London-born Gatt – who has lived in the US for 18 years – took to Twitter to vehemently deny the charges.
‘I obviously want to address the absolutely horrifying and completely untrue allegations recently leveled against me,’ he wrote.
Gatt was charged with ‘contact with a minor for sexual offense’ and he also faces a second charge of felony possession of an assault weapon. He pleaded not guilty to both charges and has remained free since being granted $5,000 bail after his arrest
One of Gatt’s most high-profile roles was playing Thenn Warg (pictured in season 2 of the series) on the hugely popular HBO series Game Of Thrones
‘They are 100% categorically wrong and reckless.
‘I have confirmed errors and misleading information in today’s press release. I am fully cooperating with police and LAPD to get to the bottom of this,’ he continued.
‘I look forward to clearing my good name. Thank you to all my friends and supporters who know that this is untrue and understand for legal reasons I cannot comment further on social media.’
His raven-haired girlfriend, Mercy Malick, 51 – who wore a dark blue blouse, light brown pants and heels in court Monday – also lashed out on social media at the allegations, calling them ‘beyond insane.’
‘So much love to everyone who has already reached out in support of Joe and myself,’ she wrote.
‘Those who know us obviously know that the allegations leveled against him are insane.’
A week after his arrest, London-born Gatt – who has lived in the US for 18 years – took to Twitter to vehemently deny the charges
One of Gatt’s most high-profile roles was playing Thenn Warg on the hugely popular HBO series Game Of Thrones.
His character was a member of the Thenn, a tribe of Free Folk known for their practices of ritual self-scarring and cannibalism.
After appearing in several episodes of season four in 2014, his character was killed off in the Battle of Castle Black.
Gatt has also starred in several blockbuster movies including the live-action Disney remake Dumbo, Star Trek Into Darkness and Thor.
The actor – who has a condition called alopecia universalis which caused him to lose all his hair at the age of 14 – began his acting career with an appearance on the British police drama The Bill in 1999.