Last Thursday a grand jury in Harris County District Court indicted world-renowned opera singer and tenured University of Michigan professor David Daniels and his husband Scott Walters for drugging and raping then-Rice University graduate student Samuel Schultz in May 2010. Both men were charged with sexual assault, which if convicted carries a sentence of two to 20 years in prison.

Schultz stated that the attack occurred after he was invited to Daniels’ corporate apartment following a cast party for the Houston Grand Opera’s performance of “Xerxes”, in which Daniels played a starring role as Arsemene. Daniels has been a celebrated countertenor since the 1990s, winning Musical America’s Vocalist of the Year award in 1999 and had been touted by several media outlets, including the New York Times, as “the most acclaimed countertenor of the day.” In 2015 Daniels joined faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance and received tenure in May 2018.

Wortham Theater Center where the Houston Grand Opera performs. Photo: Jon Weber

At the time of the assault Schultz was a first year opera student and had been introduced to Daniels and Walters by a friend. The New York Daily News first reported the details of the attack in an interview with Schultz. In a statement he made on his website Schultz initially feared going public with the assault due to Daniels standing in the opera world and concern for his own career. He referenced the #MeToo movement in his statement and is not the only one to come forward with accusations against Daniels.

A former University of Michigan student, Andrew Lipian, has separately filed a federal lawsuit against Daniels for sexual harassment and sexual assault that took place in March 2017. Following several anonymous complaints about Daniels’ sexual misconduct towards students, University of Michigan administrators have placed him on paid leave since August 2018. According to news outlet MLive, university officials began proceedings to dismiss Daniels in April 2019.

In a statement to NPR Matt Hennessy, the attorney for both Daniels and Walters denies any wrongdoing and claims that Sam Schultz is simply riding the “#MeToo movement to unearned celebrity.”

Pretrial hearings for both Daniels and Walters will take place in Harris County on Sept. 19.

