Julian Koster of Neutral Milk Hotel is accused of grooming and sexual abuse.
Anna “Nesey” Gallons, who is part of Elephant 6 Collective and has performed with bands including Circulatory System and Music Tapes, took to Instagram to make the allegations. Koster has also performed with Elephant 6 Collective and Music Tapes.
In a series of lengthy messages, Gallons alleged that Koster began grooming her at age 15, resulting in a sexual relationship just “six weeks before I turned 17”: “This is, by all conventional definitions, ‘grooming.’”
She also alleged that the musician had “assaulted” her twice in 2005, adding that “many in our community knew” about their relationship. “Others close to him (real adults, unlike me, because I was 16!) could have acted on this information at the time. Why didn’t you, Jeff (Mangum)?” Neutral Milk Hotel founder Mangum has not yet responded to the allegations.
Gallons added in a follow-up comment that the relationship “was an open secret to many, while others didn’t really know or weren’t sure what was going on,” but admitted that “when things first happened, there was only one person who explicitly asked what was going on and got a direct and honest answer in April 2001, and that was Jeff.
“Thanks for your warmth, it is appreciated, but the point of this is to find peace and move on. I am so done with this nonsense and ready to start living.”
Koster responded to the allegations in a post he shared on the Instagram of his other band The Orbiting Human Circus, beginning by saying it was “painful and scary” to share his statement. “I have been the victim of intimidation, manipulation and abuse by Nesey Gallons for years.” He went on to allege that Gallons and her husband Paul “waged a campaign against me, which has been documented in thousands of disturbing, abusive and obsessive messages.”
He admitted that they entered into a “consensual relationship” when he was 28 and Gallons was 16, adding that “while this put her over Georgia’s legal age of consent when our relationship began, it was wrong to allow the relationship to happen in the first place and I have apologized to Nesey many times for that. I should have been more responsible with the age difference, but I deny all other allegations she has made.”
Neutral Milk Hotel performing live in 2015. Credit: Chris McKay/Getty Images
Koster also claimed that over the years he tried to “listen to her and acknowledge the pain she feels,” but that his efforts were met with “increasingly disturbing behavior from both Nesey and Paul, including thousands of threatening and manipulative messages, designed to punish me for not going along with what they wanted.”
“In these messages, they demanded that I have a romantic relationship with them, marry Nesey, move in with them away from my friends and family, fund their livelihood, and allow them to emotionally, physically, and sexually control me,” he continued. “They repeatedly threatened to harm me or themselves if I did not ‘obey’ them.
He concluded his statement by saying that he had “lived in fear for years” and was “no longer able to tolerate being abused and controlled,” adding that he was apparently seeking a protective order from the duo. “I am grateful for my friends who know the truth and who continue to love and support me, and I am now focused on staying safe from my abusers,” he wrote. “These years have been so painful for everyone involved and I pray that we can all find a way to find peace.”
NME has reached out to the band’s reps for comment. Both Nesey and Paul Gallons have not yet responded to Koster’s claims against them. Read the full statements below:
The last time we heard from the Louisiana band, they had announced a career-spanning vinyl box set and shared one previously unreleased track.
