Hollywood Piano Teacher Who Fled Country Before Sex Abuse Verdict Arrested In Australia - Beritaja

A soft coach to the stars who fled the state past month conscionable earlier a assemblage recovered him blameworthy of sexually abusing a student was arrested successful Australia, authorities said.

John Kaleel, 69, was taken into custody by Australian Federal Police connected Oct. 31, according to Nicole Nishida, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the agency investigating him successful the United States.

It was not clear wherever Kaleel was arrested, and Australian authorities did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Kaleel, an Australian national, was facing a retrial connected aggregate counts of sexually abusing a student past period erstwhile he fled the state connected Oct. 8, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Kaleel vanished while jurors were deliberating astatine the Airport Courthouse. His attorney, Kate Hardie, said she past saw Kaleel aft driving him location from tribunal connected Oct. 7. She declined to remark connected his arrest.

It is expected that Kaleel will beryllium returned to the U.S., wherever he faces a lengthy situation condemnation aft he was convicted of aggregate counts of committing lewd acts pinch a child.

Kaleel taught backstage soft lessons successful the U.S. for much than 25 years, and his clients included the children of the creators of beloved tv bid specified arsenic “Mad Men” and “Orange Is the New Black.” But he became the taxable of a Sheriff’s Department investigation successful 2015 erstwhile a student told detectives Kaleel had been acting inappropriately toward him for years.

The boy said he was 12 erstwhile Kaleel asked “to return measurements of [the victim’s] assemblage parts, including his penis,” according to tribunal records. Kaleel later convinced the boy that they should masturbate together while connected a FaceTime telephone because that’s “what friends do,” records show.

When the unfortunate was 15, prosecutors allege, Kaleel invited him complete successful September 2013 and they smoked marijuana together earlier having oral sex.

Kaleel initially pleaded nary title to 1 count of committing lewd acts pinch a kid successful 2016, but later appealed the woody connected the grounds that he didn’t cognize really it would impact his migration status. Kaleel has been a lawful imperishable resident of the U.S. since the 1980s, according to Hardie, but recovered himself successful the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pursuing the plea.

Kaleel successfully appealed a deportation bid and convinced an L.A. County judge to propulsion retired the plea deal, but the L.A. County territory attorney’s agency decided to retry him.

“Mr. Kaleel has ever maintained his innocence and that he took his first plea bargain connected the proposal of counsel to debar a harsher condemnation should he suffer astatine trial,” Hardie previoulsy told The Times.

The territory attorney’s agency did not respond to a petition for remark and has not discussed what, if any, efforts it has taken to return Kaleel to the U.S. since his arrest.

Court records show prosecutors revenge an exertion for an extradition warrant past month.