Couple’s class war
Harassed by ex-girlfriend at Pace: suit
A high-school romancegone-bad is rocking Pace University — with the bitter former lovebirds turning the school into their personal war zone, a Manhattan lawsuit alleges.
Pace freshman Ari Grossman filed the suit in Manhattan federal court saying his ex-girlfriend and current classmate Kayla Torrey falsely claimed that he raped her. The suit claims she concocted the lie to prevent him from attending Pace, his dream college.
Grossman said that he and Torrey ended their romance when both were 15, and that he had no idea there was bad blood until after he was admitted to Pace’s acting program and Torrey’s parents demanded he drop out, the suit says.
After Grossman refused, Torrey asked the DA’s office to bring charges, but none was filed, the suit says.
Torrey then filed for a temporary restraining order against Grossman, but the judge ordered the Malibu, Calif., residents to settle the case, and they agreed to stay away from each other, the suit claims.
But once at school, each side accused the other of stalking and harassment.
Torrey filed so many complaints against Grossman — seven between Sept. 4 and Sept. 11 — that the dean had to intervene, Grossman’s suit says.
The last straw for Grossman came when his ex accused him of stalking her in the food hall in Novem- ber and he was tossed in a cell for 12 hours with his legs and hands in shackles.
He was charged with criminal contempt. The NYPD has since dropped the charge, the suit says.
Grossman is suing Pace and Torrey for having him improperly arrested. He expects to add the NYPD as a defendant, said his lawyer, Julie Goldberg.
“It’s just been a horrible college experience for him,” Goldberg told The Post. “We feel at this point he is not being protected.”
Pace declined to comment, noting it had not yet been served with the suit.
Torrey’s father, Michael, said, “Obviously, we don’t agree with anything” in the lawsuit.
“This is playing with these kids’ lives, and it’s a sad situation,” he added.