An Orange County piano teacher who sexually assaulted students during their music lessons over two decades was sentenced Friday to 100 years to life in prison.
John Mordecai Scott VI, 65, was convicted in March of molesting eight girls and taking pornographic images of several victims, including a 10-year-old student whom he showed pornography to and filmed, the O.C. District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Scott was convicted of 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, and one misdemeanor count of annoying or molesting a child under 18.
He was found guilty of molesting eight young girls, ranging from 7 to 15 years old, while working as a piano teacher at Music Maker Piano Studio in Rancho Santa Margarita, Coast Band Music in Mission Viejo, and at his Lake Forest home, officials said.
Scott, who had been out on bail awaiting his trial, was immediately taken into custody following his conviction, the DA’s office said.
Five people provided victim impact statements at Friday’s sentencing.
Beginning in 1996, Scott molested the girls during their music lessons, including groping their breasts and instructing some of the girls to spread their legs rhythmically under the pretense that it was part of their music instruction, according to DA’s office.
“He showed multiple victims pornography and photographed one of the underage girls in pornographic poses, including in lingerie,” the news release states.
He also claimed to be a doctor while molesting one of his underaged students, officials said.
In 2014, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Scott’s home after a 10-year-old student reported that he took inappropriate photos of her while she was taking lessons at his Lake Forest home. She also reported that he showed her porn and filmed her.
The O.C. Child Exploitation Task Force, led by Homeland Security Investigations, uncovered pornographic photos of three of Scott’s students on his computer, as well as photoshopped images of two of the young girls that had been altered from innocuous images to graphic pornographic images of the girls. A large amount of child pornography and erotica were also discovered on Scott’s computer, officials said.
“The trauma these young girls were forced to endure by someone they should have been able to trust is unforgivable,” O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a written statement. “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.”
