Opera singer David Daniels pleads guilty in sexual assault trial

Opera singer David Daniels, and his husband Scott Walters, plead guilty to drugging and raping a young vocalist in 2010.

The crime: Daniels, one of the opera world’s most well-known countertenors, along with Walters admitted to drugging and assaulting plaintiff Samuel Schultz.
* Schultz was a 23-year-old graduate student when he met the couple at a party following one of Daniels’ performances at the Houston Grand Opera.

The punishment: David Daniels now faces eight years of probation for the second-degree felony, with both him and Walters ordered to register as sex offenders.
* They are also required to refrain from contact with Schultz.

Reaction and impact: Following the allegations, Daniels’ scheduled appearances at opera houses around the world were cancelled.
* Daniels was removed from a production in San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York canceled his contract.
* He also lost his position as a tenured professor of voice at the University of Michigan in 2020.

Victim’s statement: Samuel Shultz expressed relief at the conclusion of this part of his ordeal and at the punishments received by Daniels and Walters.
* Shultz’s family also expressed relief that the perpetrators faced consequences but underscored that it does not undo the events.

Previous denial: Daniels initially denied the accusations of sexual assault upon their emergence in 2018.

View original article on NPR

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