SAN DIEGO — Two men associated with an El Cajon-based theater arts program were charged on suspicion of sexually abusing students under their care at Christian Youth Theater.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced charges Monday against 40-year-old Brad Christian Davis and 34-year-old David Hott. Davis has been charged with one felony count of sexual penetration by a foreign object for a 2010 incident involving a 16-year-old child, while Hott has been charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious act on a child under the age of 14 for incidents that occurred in 2007 involving a 13-year-old child. If convicted, Davis faces up to three years and Hott faces up to ten years in state prison.
“Protecting children from sexual predators and making sure they are not revictimized during the criminal justice process is my top priority,” Stephan said. “Victims in this case whose abuse was beyond the statute of limitations still provided valuable information and evidence that allowed their voices to be heard and will allow us to seek justice.”
In July, Janie Russell Cox, the leader of the national after-school theater company that has chapters across the country, acknowledged as many as five allegations of sexual misconduct made against three of its directors dating back some 25 years. Cox, who took over as CYT president in 2017, said she was unaware of any claims of abuse or past concerns of it until recent allegations were made online.
The District Attorney’s Office and San Diego police are asking for any additional victims to come forward. Anyone with more information is urged to call SDPD.
“I’d like to thank all of the victims for their courage in coming forward and our Sex Crimes Detectives for working diligently on this case with the District Attorney’s Office,” said San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit. “We must hold these individuals responsible for their actions, so they don’t have the opportunity to harm more children in the future.”
Judge Michael Groch set bail at $100,000 for each defendant. Future court dates have not yet been provided.
