Chorus coach arrested on suspicion of molestation

Deepa Bharath

A 27-year-old voice coach accused of repeatedly molesting a Buena

Park teenager he met at the All-American Boys Chorus will be

arraigned on Oct. 18, officials said Wednesday.

Robert Alan Giese of Irvine, who was arrested Friday, faces six

felony counts of child molestation, said Orange County Deputy Dist.

Atty. Susan Schroeder.

Giese is accused of molesting a 17-year-old boy between May 1,

1998 and May 31, 2002 at his Irvine home, she said.

“The victim was 13 years old when the incidents began,” Schroeder

said. “The victim and the defendant knew each other through the

All-American Boys Chorus.”

The chorus is headquartered at the Orange County Fairgrounds

Police arrested Giese after the teenager reported the alleged

crimes, she said. Giese is currently out on a $200,000 bail and is

scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 18.

Giese’s attorney, Ron Brower, said several parents called his

office Wednesday to offer their support.

“They all said they don’t believe the charges are true and they

want [Giese] to continue their voice lessons,” he said

Brower said Giese resigned from the nationally renowned chorus

because he did not “want anybody to feel uncomfortable until the

matter is resolved.” He said Giese is still employed in an

Irvine-based public relations firm where he is a senior account

executive.

Anthony Manrique, executive director of the All-American Boys

Chorus, said “the alleged incidents did not take place in our

facilities.”

He said the organization came to know about the incidents only

after they were informed about them by Buena Park police following

Giese’s arrest Friday.

Giese was with the chorus as a full-time staff member through May

2000, Manrique said. He was its production manager, voice coach and

director of communications until that time.

After May 2000 Giese taught only one voice class a week, he added.

“When there is an allegation like this against any of our staff

members, our procedure is to suspend them until there is a

resolution,” Manrique said.

Immediately after the arrest Giese himself submitted his

resignation, Manrique added.

Manrique noted that the chorus has “very strict youth protection

guidelines.”

“We always make sure there are two staff members present during

any class,” he said. “And all staff members, since the late ‘90s,

have gone through FBI fingerprint checks and extensive background

checks.”

In 1992 Rev. Richard Coughlin, a former Catholic priest, was

dismissed from the organization after five men alleged he molested

them when they sang with the chorus several years ago. The lawsuits

brought by those victims were settled.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office is asking anybody

with information on the alleged incidents to call Buena Park Police

Det. Jerry Von Gris at (714) 562-3972.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.