| For Immediate Release Case # 07HF1511July 27, 2007 |
Contact: Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486 |
FORMER CATHOLIC CHURCH MUSIC DIRECTOR CHARGED WITH UNLAWFUL SEX IN 1995 WITH
MINOR GIRL HE MET AT CHURCH
NEWPORT BEACH – A former music director of St. Timothy Roman Catholic Church will be arraigned Monday on charges that he had unlawful sex with a 16-year-old girl between 1995 and 1996. Albert Lee Schildknecht, 56, Laguna Niguel, is charged with two counts of oral copulation and one count of digital penetration of a minor. If convicted of all counts, he could face a sentence between probation and four years and four months in state prison. He is currently being held on $100,000 bail. The defendant is scheduled to appear for arraignment on Monday, July 30, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. in Department H-2, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach.
Between 1995 and 1996, Schildknecht, then 44, met Jane Doe, then 16, while he was employed as the music director for St. Timothy Roman Catholic Church. The victim was Schildknecht’s choir student. The defendant is accused of orally copulating and digitally penetrating Jane Doe.
This case is being prosecuted under the extension of statute of limitation section of the Penal Code. The law extends the time a case may be prosecuted if 1) the case is filed within one year of report to law enforcement; 2) the acts constitute substantial sexual conduct; and 3) there is admissible independent evidence that corroborates victim’s allegation.
On May 14, 2007, Jane Doe, now 28, contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The case was referred to Costa Mesa Police, who investigated this case. Senior Deputy District Attorney Mike Fell of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.
Since 1995, Schildknecht has also worked at Saint Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, Corpus Cristi Catholic-Christian Community of Aliso Viejo, and Mission San Juan Capistrano Basilica. Anyone with additional information or who believes they may have been a victim is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Craig Kelsey at (714) 347-8794.
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