Architect to Hollywood stars arrested and charged with molesting two girls
A prominent architect known for designing movie theaters and sound studios for some of the biggest names in Hollywood has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of child molestation involving two girls.
Jeffrey Cooper, 66, was arrested by L.A. County Special Victims Unit detectives Monday on eight charges of child molestation, court records show. Among the charges, Cooper has been accused of oral copulation with a minor and penetration of a child under the age of 10, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s records show.
For the record:
6:10 p.m. June 19, 2018An earlier version of this article gave an incorrect number to contact sheriff’s detectives. The correct number is (877) 710-5273.
Nicole Nishida, a sheriff’s spokeswoman, said that the arrest came after detectives conducted an investigation into allegations that Cooper committed lewd acts with a minor between 2006 and 2016 in Calabasas. Nishida said the victims are two girls.
Cooper is accused of committing lewd acts upon one of the girls between November 2006 and November 2007 and then assaulting the second girl on several occasions between January 2012 and July 31, 2016.
Cooper was taken into custody early Monday morning and held at the Lost Hills sheriff’s station, Nishida said.
The architect appeared briefly in Superior Court in Van Nuys on Tuesday and entered a not-guilty plea to the charges. A judge set his bail at $5 million and set a hearing for July 5.
Booking records show Cooper’s address as that of the address for Jeff Cooper Architects Inc. His website lists a slew of studios and big Hollywood names as clients, including George Lucas, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.
Cooper’s firm has designed such prominent venues as an Academy of Television Arts and Sciences theater and 17 of the mixing studios that produced Academy Award nominees for sound, according to his firm’s prospectus on its website.
In 2002, Cooper became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his contributions to acoustics and theater design.
Cooper remained in custody Tuesday.
Sheriff’s detectives are on Tuesday asking that anyone with further information concerning Cooper contact them at (877) 710-5273.
Twitter: @lacrimes
UPDATES:
6:14 p.m : This article was updated with details of Cooper’s arraignment.
This article was first published at 1:05 p.m.
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