KEY POINTS
- The 65-year-old man molested girls ranging in age from 7 to 15 while working as a piano teacher at studios and at his home
- He was also convicted of taking pornographic images of several victims
- Parents were not allowed to stay during his music lessons because he claimed they would be disruptive
A 65-year-old man in Orange County, California, was sentenced Friday to 100 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting several young girls during their music lessons.
John Mordecai Scott VI was convicted in March of molesting eight girls and taking pornographic images of several victims over the course of 18 years, KTLA reported.
Scott molested girls ranging in age from 7 to 15 beginning in 1996 while working as a piano teacher at studios in Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo, as well as at his Lake Forest home, officials said.
The victims included a 10-year-old student whom he showed pornography to and filmed, according to an official release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Scott was convicted of 13 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, five felony counts of a lewd act upon a child age 14 or 15, one felony count of use of an underage person for obscene matter, one felony count of possession of child pornography and one felony count of exhibition of lewd material to a minor, among other charges.
At his sentencing, five people provided victim impact statements.
“The trauma these young girls were forced to endure by someone they should have been able to trust is unforgivable,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
“Pedophiles will not stop victimizing innocent children until they are removed from society. No child and no parent should have to suffer what these victims have suffered,” he continued.
Scott was alone with his students while at Coast Band n Mission Viejo with little to no supervision, and parents were not allowed to stay during lessons as the piano teacher claimed they would be disruptive, according to attorney Genie Harrison, who represents one of the victims.
Scott also had a photography room in his home where he took seminude photos of the victims. Prosecutors said that he showed the young girls pornography as well.
The investigation on Scott began in 2014 when a 10-year-old student reported that he had taken inappropriate photos of her and showed her pornography while she was taking lessons at his home.
“He showed multiple victims pornography and photographed one of the underage girls in pornographic poses, including in lingerie,” the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.
During the investigation, authorities found a large number of sexual abuse materials on his computer, the Los Angeles Times reported. Also discovered were photoshopped images of two of the young girls that had been altered from innocuous images to graphic pornographic images.
The piano is one of the most popular instruments to learn Photo: Pixabay
