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L.A. Piano Teacher Flees Country After Guilty Verdict in 2013 Student Abuse Case

Authorities are pursuing an extradition warrant to return him to custody.

Overview

  • John Kaleel, 69, left the United States on Oct. 8, the day a Los Angeles jury convicted him on five counts tied to a 2013 student abuse case, according to the Sheriff’s Department and court records.
  • Prosecutors filed an application for an Extradition/Fugitive Hardcopy Warrant, and officials have not disclosed his location or how he departed.
  • Kaleel had been free on his own recognizance during the retrial, and his attorney says she last saw him on Oct. 7 and has had no contact since.
  • The case followed a vacated 2016 no‑contest plea that led to ICE custody and a deportation order later overturned by the Board of Immigration Appeals in 2019, with the plea itself set aside in 2022.
  • Court records describe allegations of genital measurements, a coordinated FaceTime masturbation incident, and later oral sex after smoking marijuana, while his website removed disputed celebrity testimonials after inquiries.