An Orange County piano teacher was sentenced Friday to 100 years to life in prison for molesting eight young girls during music lessons and taking pornographic images of some of his students.
John Mordecai Scott, 65, was convicted two months ago of more than two-dozen felony counts, including lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, use of an underage person for obscene matter and possession of child pornography, among other charges.
Scott carried out the sexual abuse over a nearly 20-year period beginning in 1996, molesting girls ranging in age from 7 to 15-years-old. During the time period, Scott worked as a piano teacher at Music Maker Piano Studio in Rancho Santa Margarita, Coast Band Music in Mission Viejo and out of his Lake Forest home.
According to prosecutors, Scott during the music lessons would grope the girls’ breasts and instruct some of them to spread their legs rhythmically, claiming it was part of their music instruction.
Prosecutors also alleged that Scott showed some of the girls pornography and photographed one of the girls in pornographic poses. He was also accused of claiming to be a doctor while molesting one of the girls.
In 2014, a 10-year-old student reported that Scott had taken inappropriate photographs of her while she was taking lessons at his Lake Forest home, had shown her pornography and had filmed her.
An investigation by the multi-agency Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force turned up pornographic photos of three of Scott’s students on his computer, as well as images of two young girls that had been digitally altered from innocuous photos to graphic pornographic images, according to prosecutors. They also found what prosecutors described as a “large amount” of child pornography and erotica on Scott’s computer.
“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 following the sentencing. “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,” Spitzer added. “The Orange County District Attorney’s Office, along with our local and federal law enforcement partners, will never stop working to protect our children from these monsters.”
While Scott was convicted of molesting eight girls, a ninth girl also testified as a witness in his trial. A tenth girl did not wish to participate in the trial, and charges related to an 11th girl were dismissed.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Source: Orange County Register
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