David Danielsone of the opera world's most well-known countertenorsand husband Scott Walters pled guilty in a Houston district court to drugging and raping a young vocalist, grad student Samuel Schultz, in 2010, NPR reported.
Schultz was a 23-year-old student at Rice University when he met Daniels and Walters at a party following one of Daniels' performances at the Houston Grand Opera; the couple invited him to the apartment where they were staying, and sexually assaulted him after a spiked drink caused the young singer to black out.
"We are deeply relieved that the perpetrators of this despicable crime are finally facing the consequences of their choices," Schultz's family said in a statement provided to NPR. "This plea deal does not undo the monstrous events that led to this day, but we are here to love and support Samuel today and forever. We also know in a criminal legal system as broken as ours, victims rarely get justice for themselves, and our thoughts are with all victims of sexual violence."
Daniels and Walters are each facing eight years of probation for the second-degree felony, and would be required to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.
Daniels initially denied Schulz's accusations. He and Walters were partners in 2010, and wed in 2014.
Andrew Davis