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OC Piano Teacher Sentenced to 100 years for Molesting Underage Students

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Orange County piano teacher John Mordecai Scott VI was sentenced to 100 years to life for molesting eight young girls ranging from ages seven to 15 and creating pornography of his students during music lessons for nearly two decades. Scott, 65, was convicted of 26 sex-related felony counts on March 14.

Scott was initially accused of molesting 11 girls but one wished to not participate due to the non-jury bench trial before the Orange County Superior Court Judge Steven Bromberg. This case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Kristin Bracic of the Sexual Assault Unit. 

According to a press release from the OC Office of District Attorney released on May 6, Scott was convicted of the following counts: 

  • 13 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor
  • five felony counts of a lewd act upon a child age 14 or 15
  • one felony count of use of an underage person for obscene matter
  • one felony count of possession of child pornography
  • one felony count of exhibition of lewd material to a minor
  • one felony count of distributing pornography to a minor with the intent to engage in sexual conduct
  • one misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child under 18.

Scott worked as a piano teacher at Music Maker Piano Studio located on Aventura in Rancho Santa Margarita, Coast Band Music in Mission Viejo on Via Fabricante and at his Lake Forest home on the 20700 block of El Toro Road, as reported by ABC7 News

His career initially began as a musician but a viral infection causing deafness in his left ear ended his career as a performer. His life then shifted toward teaching, and he began giving piano lessons and photography, according to Scott’s attorney as reported by ABC7.

The District Attorney’s Office press release stated that Scott began molesting multiple victims in 1996 for the span of nearly 20 years, in which he showed pornography, photographed his victims, coerced his students to put on lingerie and claimed to be a doctor as well as a piano teacher while conducting these activities during his lessons. 

In one instance, victims testified that Scott would cup their breasts and instructed girls to spread their legs rhythmically under the pretense that it was part of their music instruction, according to the press release.

“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. “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. 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.” 

On Aug. 8, 2014, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Scott’s home immediately after a 10-year-old student reported him of taking inappropriate photos of her during her lessons at his Lake Forest home, according to ABC7 News.

Scott was then arrested in 2014 for lewd and lascivious conduct with a child and booked into Orange County Jail with a bail of $500,000.

Pornographic photos of three of his students were found on his computer including large amounts of child pornography and erotica all uncovered by the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force led by Homeland Security Investigations.

“Removing child predators from our communities will always remain a priority for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles,” Acting Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang said. “Through the HSI-led Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force, our agents and analysts work tirelessly with partners from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to protect our most innocent and ensure that justice is served on those who seek to exploit them.”

Julia Spencer is a City News Intern for the 2022 spring quarter. She can be reached at jkspence@uci.edu