Internationally Renowned Opera Singer And His Husband Arrested For Alleged Sexual Assault

A well known opera singer and his conductor husband been arrested and charged for the alleged rape of another man nearly a decade ago.

David Daniels and William A. Scott Walters were taken into custody on charges of second-degree felony sexual assault of an adult in Ann Arbor, Michigan Tuesday. Daniels is a notable countertenor and has worked as a University of Michigan professor since 2015. Walters is a conductor. They have been accused of rape by Samuel Schultz, a baritone singer, who described the alleged 2010 incident in a post on his website.

“Yes, men are raped," Schultz writes. "I did not know that the word ‘rape’ applied to what happened to me until I lethargically went to tell a friend, and told her through tears and emptiness, what happened to me. In fact, I was so naïve that I didn’t know that I should have gone to the hospital or even what a ‘rape kit’ is. We must do better in educating each person about the realities and tragedy of rape.”

At the time, Schultz was 23 years old and working towards a masters degree. Schultz told the New York Daily News in August of 2018 that he had been drugged and violently violated after a performance in Texas. He had filed criminal charges against the couple in July, according to The Associated Press.

Schultz claims he attempted to see a doctor afterward but was too scared to admit the reason for the visit and had to wait several weeks for an appointment, meaning no evidence of the crime existed.

Daniels took a leave of absence from his position at the University shortly after news of the accusations originally broke.

Matt Hennessy, a Houston-based criminal attorney representing Daniels and Walters, denies all allegations made against his clients.

“David and Scott are innocent of any wrongdoing. Sam Schultz is not a victim. He never would have gotten this much attention from his singing, and he knows and resents that fact,” Hennessy wrote in a statement, according to M Live. “He waited eight years to complain about adult, consensual sex to ride the MeToo movement to unearned celebrity. We will fight this.”

Daniels and Walters are likely to be extradited to Texas, where there is a 10-year statute of limitations on second-degree felony sexual assault charge.

Daniels has also been named in a civil lawsuit filed by Andrew Lipian. Lipian, a former University of Michigan student, says he was groped and touched after being given bourbon and sleeping medication at Daniels' apartment in March of 2017. Daniels has denied these allegations as well, calling the accusation "fake and malicious" in a countersuit. Daniels was removed from a San Francisco Opera production as a result of the accusation.

A third accusation of sexual misconduct was made against Daniels in March 2018. A student who remains unnamed in reports said that Daniels contacted him on Grindr, a gay social media app, and offered to pay him for sex. Police investigated the accusation but found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

Daniels and Williams are high-profile performers and personalities in the opera world. The two were married by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2014.

If convicted, Daniels and Walters face between two and 20 years in prison.

[Photo: AP]