Opera Australia Artist Accused Of Child Sex Offenses
By Francisco SalazarDavid Edward Lewis, a longstanding member of Opera Australia has been charged with child sex offenses.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the 58-year-old tenor is being charged with four counts of aggravated indecent assault of a victim under the age of 16 and two counts of sexual intercourse with a person 14 or over and under 16. The reports state that some of the crimes committed occurred at the Sydney Opera House where the tenor has been a prominent figure for the past 25 years.
According to reports, the victim went to the police after the company’s production of “Turandot” where Lewis was starring as Turandot’s father. The abuse allegedly happened in the mid-1990s when the then 14-year-old girl was in the children’s chorus and Lewis, who was in his 30s, was in the chorus.
Sources have noted that members of the company reported the matter to senior figures within Opera Australia but no action was taken at the time against Lewis.
Opera Australia has already taken action and sent out a statement, “Due to the nature of those charges, OA took immediate action to stand down Mr. Lewis from his position and required that he stay away from the Opera Centre.”
The allegations come a day after prominent journalist and opera advocate Charlie Rose was accused of sexual harassment. It also comes days after Opera and theater director Ramin Gray was accused of sexual harassment.
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