Trial of opera star for raping aspiring singer takes unexpected turn

The rape trial of star opera singer David Daniels began in a surprise manner on Friday when he and his husband suddenly pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault in connection with the drugging of an aspiring musician in 2010.

Opening arguments in the trial of Daniels and her husband Scott Walters were scheduled to begin in Houston – the same city where Samuel Schultz claimed the then-unmarried couple raped him while he was unconscious. But the Houston Chronicle The couple reportedly “rushed in and out of the courtroom” just as the trial was about to begin, instead agreeing to a deal to stop the trial before it even began.

As part of the deal, Daniels and Walters pleaded no contest to one count of sexual assault of an adult, a second-degree felony, meaning they avoided a possible conviction for aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree felony that carries harsher penalties, including a possible life sentence.

The deal ensures that both avoid prison time. Instead, they will spend eight years on probation and be registered as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.

Schultz’s sexual assault occurred in 2010, allegedly after he saw Daniels perform and had drinks with him at a Houston bar. He made the allegations in 2018 at the height of the #MeToo movement. Because there is no statute of limitations for rape in Texas, prosecutors arrested Walters, 40, and Daniels, 57, in 2019.

The couple were released on bail and initially insisted the encounter was consensual, but the allegations destroyed Daniels’ career. The once-prominent countertenor was fired from his tenured professor position at the University of Michigan in 2020 and was fired from a popular San Francisco opera house where he regularly performed.

At the height of Daniels’ popularity, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a huge opera fan, officiated his wedding to Walters in 2014. But Daniels, who has performed on some of the biggest opera stages, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the Royal Opera in London, is now one of the most well-known classical stars to be condemned in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

In a statement on Friday, Schultz described the rape and its aftermath as a “nightmarish ordeal.” An aspiring singer himself, Schultz said he idolized Daniels and willingly went home with him after meeting him at the bar. But when he got there, he was served a drink that knocked him unconscious. He woke up the next morning naked, alone and bleeding.

In court documents obtained by the timelineSchultz said he could only remember fleeting moments of the night, including a memory of watching porn on television and a memory of Daniels raping him.

Schultz, a baritone, was a 23-year-old student at Rice University at the time. Now 36, he said he was afraid that making the allegations public could jeopardize his career as a musician.

“I am glad that the defendants have acknowledged the truth of my traumatic experience through their guilty pleas and that this part of my nightmarish ordeal is finally over,” Shultz said in a statement to The New York Times on Friday.

Daniels and Walters did not issue a statement Friday.

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