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Former director of Milwaukee Children’s Choir charged with sexual assault

Gillberg
Former director of Milwaukee Children’s Choir charged with sexual assault

The former director of the Milwaukee Children’s Choir is facing charges of sexually abusing and soliciting a former choir member.

Prosecutors charged Marco Melendez, 39, with two counts of child enticement and third-degree sexual assault on Tuesday. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but he was not in the Milwaukee County Jail late Thursday.

A criminal complaint also filed on Tuesday described the alleged abuse of a former choir member, who told investigators in Milwaukee that Melendez had repeatedly attempted to ply him with alcohol and fondle him between 2016 and 2018, the year he left the state.

The victim is now 23, but was still a child when his parents sent him to the choir in 2013.

He told investigators that Melendez often made inappropriate comments to him about her “making out with boys” and that he asked the victim and other choir members about their sex lives, the court document said.

In October or November 2016, Melendez took the victim to a movie theater. On the way, Melendez, who was driving, pretended to reach for a drink and instead dropped the back of his hand on the victim’s crotch, the indictment says. He did this several times during the drive.

The victim estimated that Melendez picked him up and took him to Melendez’s house about 100 times. During most of those trips, Melendez groped him while driving, the complaint states.

From then on, Melendez began to invite the victim to his home in Washington Heights more frequently. During the visits, the victim was also served alcoholic beverages. Melendez is also said to have touched the victim inappropriately during these encounters, the complaint states.

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At some point in early 2017, Melendez allegedly offered to perform a sexual act on the victim, who was still a minor at the time, and also touched her inappropriately, according to the indictment.

Melendez warned the victim not to tell anyone because the revelation would ruin his career, the complaint says.

Melendez left the state in 2018 but returned to Milwaukee in 2019 and hosted a rally at his new home.

There, according to the now adult victim, Melendez served him alcohol and performed involuntary sexual acts on him. Another former choir member told police he witnessed the incident.

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The police contacted the victim in May of this year.

Investigators later recorded a phone conversation between the victim and Melendez. Melendez said he could not remember anything about the incidents, but said if the victim had been uncomfortable, “of course he apologized.”

Melendez worked for the Milwaukee Children’s Choir from September 2012 to May 2017. The children’s choir later that spring merged with the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, which issued a statement:

“As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment on the specifics of the matter at this time. However, as part of the merger, we can confirm that no board members or staff of the Milwaukee Children’s Choir are employed by the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.”

Melendez was hired in February as music director for the Queen of Apostles Parish Family in Cincinnati. Its pastor, Father Alex McCullough, said in a letter to parishioners this week that Melendez has not been employed by the parish since June 25, the day the warrant for his arrest was issued.

McCullough wrote in the letter that he was not aware of any allegations of criminal activity against Melendez during his tenure at the Cincinnati church.

If convicted on all three counts, Melendez faces up to 60 years in prison.

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