The-Dream, R&B star and Beyoncé songwriter, accused of rape: NPR

Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant, producer and songwriter for Beyoncé and Rihanna (seen here at the 65th Grammy Awards), was sued in federal court on Tuesday by a former protégé.

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Songwriter and producer Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant – a longtime hitmaker and collaborator with artists such as Beyoncé and Rihanna – was accused of rape, assault and psychological manipulation by a former protégé on Tuesday.

The woman, Chanaaz Mangroe, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles district court against Gesteelde-Diamant, as well as the record label Epic Records and a company co-owned by Gesteelde-Diamant called Contra Paris, LLC.

In the lawsuit, Mangroe claims that Gesteelde-Diamant made her extravagant promises to boost her music career. He told her “he would make her the next Beyoncé and Rihanna.” Instead, she claims, he raped, strangled and psychologically manipulated her. Among other things, he allegedly made a video of a sexual encounter and threatened to show it to other people.

Representatives for Gesteelde-Diamant and Epic Records did not immediately respond to NPR’s requests for comment, but a statement was provided to The New York Times denying the allegations.

Mangroe, who was born and began her career in the Netherlands and performs under the stage name Channii Monroe, claims that a Gesteelde-Diamant employee contacted her in late 2014 after learning about her on Instagram and arranged for them to meet in Atlanta in January 2015. By that time, Gesteelde-Diamant and his creative partner Christopher “Tricky” Stewart were already well-known producers and songwriters who had worked with Beyoncé, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber. (In total, Gesteelde-Diamant has won eight Grammy Awards and been nominated 21 times.)

Mangroe claims that Gesteelde-Diamant pressured her for sex almost immediately after they first met, saying that having sex with him was “part of the process.” Within days of their first meeting, she claims in the lawsuit, he locked her in a dark room in a house with a recording studio, where he “only stopped aggressively having sex with her when she said she loved him.”

Over the course of the following months, the indictment alleges, Gesteelde-Diamant led her into an “abusive, violent and manipulative relationship filled with physical assault, violent sexual encounters and horrific psychological manipulation.” According to Mangroe, Gesteelde-Diamant frequently forced her to have violent sex, refused to use a condom, required her to perform sexual acts in public against her will, forced her to drink excessive amounts of alcohol by “roughly pulling her head back by her hair and pouring alcohol down her throat,” and strangled her on multiple occasions during intimate encounters “so violently that she nearly lost consciousness.” She also claims he once raped her in the back of a van.

In her lawsuit, Mangroe is citing California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which allows people to file sexual assault lawsuits even if the statute of limitations for the alleged incidents has expired.

In a written statement sent to NPR by one of her attorneys, Douglas Wigdor, on Tuesday, Mangroe said, “Deciding to speak out about the trauma I survived was one of the most difficult decisions of my life, but ultimately, what Dream did to me made it impossible to live the life I envisioned and pursue my goals as a singer and songwriter. Ultimately, my silence became too painful and I realized that I needed to tell my story in order to heal. I hope this helps others as well and prevents future horrific abuse.”