A former teacher at the San Diego Junior Theatre will have to register as a sex offender and spend three years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor, authorities said Wednesday.

Eric von Metzke, 35, was sentenced Tuesday at San Diego County Superior Court, roughly a month after he confessed to two counts of sex with a female under the age of 18, said Tanya Sierra, a spokeswoman for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. She said prosecutors dropped a third charge of unlawful genital and anal penetration in light of von Metzke’s guilty plea.

Eric von Metzke in a publicity photo from Cygnet Theatre’s 2015 “Dogfight” production. (Union-Tribune files)

The crimes took place between Oct. 1 and Nov. 3 of last year, according to a complaint filed with the office in April. The 3-page charging document offers no further information on where the crime was committed or the identity of the victim. Sierra said those details did not come out in the court record.


A spokeswoman for the nonprofit Junior Theatre, billed as the oldest continuing children’s theater program in the country, said von Metzke hadn’t taught there for at least six months. Carla Corder said his departure was amicable and declined further comment on his tenure at the theater or his arrest.

A biography posted on the theater’s website lists von Metzke as an alumnus of the program. It says he was first hired as a “teaching artist” in 2014 and directed at least two productions — Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Magic Treehouse: Dinosaurs Before Dark” — before leaving the theater.

It goes on to note the San Diego State University graduate’s professional acting roles at such venues as Starlight, San Diego Musical Theatre and SeaWorld.

Matt Valenti, an attorney with a daughter who performed under von Metzke’s direction in 2015, said von Metzke worked at the theater through January of this year, when he recalled a lawyer had paid a visit to the theater’s administration.


“We got to know him because my daughter was in his show,” Valenti added. “We thought he was a great guy and now, obviously, we’re pretty shocked.”

A Monday message posted to von Metzke’s Facebook page hinted at Tuesday’s sentencing:

“I am sorry for the vague post but am unable to provide any details here,” the message said. “Tomorrow June 20th, my Facebook account will no longer exist nor will my number, email, etc. Those of you who know me best, know what’s going on. It will put my mind at ease if you all check in with my family from time to time. I truly love you all. Thank you and I’ll see you when I can.”

Domenic Lombardo, von Metzke’s attorney, declined to comment.

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