A Los Angeles youth piano teacher who claimed a star-studded clientele fled the country after being found guilty of sex abuse charges, according to officials.
On October 8, John Kaleel, 69, was found guilty of five counts of abuse, following allegations he abused one of his students in 2013.
That same day, he left the country, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told the Los Angeles Times. Prosecutors have since reportedly sought a warrant for the “extradition/fugitive” situation in the case.
The Sheriff’s Department told The Independent the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office was handling the case.
The District Attorney’s Office said it does “not have information to provide on the defendant’s location” at this time.
Kaleel, a longtime lawful permanent resident of the U.S. originally from Australia, had been accused of making lewd comments to the teen student, convincing the boy to masturbate with him on a FaceTime call, and inviting the teen over to smoke marijuana, after which they then allegedly had oral sex.
The piano teacher had reportedly touted testimonials from Hollywood figures including the creators of TV hits like Mad Men and Orange is the New Black on his website, though spokespeople for these creatives denied to the Times that they endorsed Kaleel or gave him permission to feature any comments.
The site now leads to a dead link.
The Independent has contacted Kate Hardie, Kaleel’s lawyer, for comment.
Hardie told the Times she last saw her client on October 7, just before the jury reached its verdict, and has had no contact with him since.
In 2016, Kaleel reportedly pleaded no contest to committing a lewd act with a teenage student and spent time in a federal detention center, though he later successfully fought to overturn the plea on the grounds that he didn’t understand the deal would impact his immigration status and lead to a deportation order.
Kaleel has always maintained his innocence, Hardie told the paper, and accused prosecutors of seeking a “vindictive prosecution” against the 69-year-old.
The lawyer said that police had interviewed multiple students of the piano teacher and found no additional accusations of inappropriate behavior.
An Instagram appearing to belong to Kaleel describes the teacher as a “maestro” and claims he studied piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and was accepted to Julliard.
