Opera Singer David Daniels and His Husband Plead Guilty to Sexual Assault

HOUSTON (AP) — Renowned opera singer David Daniels and his husband have pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting another singer in Houston.

Daniels, 57, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Scott Walters, 40, entered the pleas Friday after a jury was assembled for the trial of the pair on first-degree felony charges of aggravated sexual assault.

Both pleaded guilty to sexual assault of an adult, a second-degree felony, and were sentenced to eight years’ probation and required to register as sex offenders.

FILE - This combination of photos released by the Washtenaw County Jail, shows David Daniels, left, and William Scott Walters, in Ann Arbor, Mich. On Thursday, July 25, 2019, a grand jury in Texas indicted Daniels, a University of Michigan professor and renowned opera singer, and his husband Walters on one count of sexual assault for what prosecutors say was the rape of an incapacitated man in 2010. (Washtenaw County Jail via AP, File)

David Daniels, left, and William Scott Walters, circa 2019. (Washtenaw County Jail via AP)

Daniels, Walters, and their attorney declined to comment following the hearing.

Daniels and Walters were charged in 2019 when Samuel Schultz filed a criminal complaint in 2018 alleging the two assaulted him in 2010 after he met them at a Houston Grand Opera reception while he was a graduate student at Rice University.

Schultz said he was invited to their apartment and given a drink that led him to slip in and out of consciousness. He awoke alone and naked.

The AP doesn’t normally name victims of sexual assault, but Schultz offered to publicly identify himself to help others fearful of reporting an assault.

SANTA FE, NM - AUGUST 17: U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, poses for a photo backstage at the Santa Fe Opera, with countertenor David Daniels, and Daniels' partner, Scott Walters, a conductor and singer. Justice Ginsburg paid cast members a visit during intermission of the opera, Oscar, which premiered this season in Santa Fe, 2013. Daniels sings the lead role of Oscar Wilde. (Photo by Mark Holm/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses for a photo backstage at the Santa Fe Opera with countertenor David Daniels and Daniels’ partner, Scott Walters. (Mark Holm/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Daniels, a countertenor, was fired as a University of Michigan professor and was removed by the San Francisco Opera from a production of Handel’s “Orlando” after sexual assault allegations by a student at the university in 2018.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Michigan, alleged Daniels groped the male student and sent and requested sexual photos. The lawsuit also alleged that Daniels served the student alcohol, gave him sleep medication, and touched him sexually.

COMMENTS