Boys choir sued in sexual abuse case

Deepa Bharath

A Buena Park family has filed a $5-million lawsuit against the

All-American Boys Chorus sexual abuse.

The civil suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court on Sept. 10,

claims that Roger Alan Giese, a 28-year-old former voice coach for

the choir, repeatedly molested a then-13-year-old boy over a

four-year period.

The lawsuit claims that Giese “repeatedly sexually molested and

battered” the victim while giving him private music lessons in

Giese’s Irvine home.

Giese was arrested in September 2002 and charged with six felony

counts of child molestation. He has since left the choir,

headquartered at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. He

pleaded not guilty to all charges. Neither Giese nor his attorney,

Ron Brower, could be reached for comment on Monday.

The suit was directed against the choir because it allowed the

incidents to happen, the suit states.

“The choir owed a duty to [the victim] and other young boys in its

charge not to allow the choir’s employees, individual contractors and

agents to cause the boys to suffer emotional distress,” the suit

alleges.

The civil lawsuit said Giese enticed the boy by saying he could

join him as a Secret Service sniper if he provided sperm samples.

The suit states that the victim “had nightmares and trouble

sleeping” because of what Giese did to him.

“He questions his own sexuality, agonizes over his gullibility and

had trouble with authority figures,” it says.

Choir director Anthony Manrique said he has not been served with

the lawsuit yet.

But he has maintained that none of the alleged acts happened in

any of the choir’s facilities and that they run thorough background

checks on all employees.

Giese was with the chorus as a full-time staff member through May

2000. He was its production manager, voice coach and director of

communications until that time. After May 2000, Giese taught only one

voice class a week.

In March, an Orange County Superior Court judge ruled that Giese

must stand trial after he heard testimony from the lead investigator

on the case about how the voice coach had assaulted the boy.

Giese is out on a $200,000 bail. A jury trial for the criminal

case is scheduled for Oct. 27.