"A piano teacher to the stars who fled the country last month just before a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing a student was arrested in Australia, authorities said. John Kaleel, 69, was taken into custody by Australian Federal Police on Oct. 31, according to Nicole Nishida, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the agency investigating him in the United States. It was not clear where Kaleel was arrested, and Australian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
"Kaleel, an Australian national, was facing a retrial on multiple counts of sexually abusing a student last month when he fled the country on Oct. 8, according to the Sheriff's Department. Kaleel disappeared while jurors were deliberating at the Airport Courthouse. His attorney, Kate Hardie, said she last saw Kaleel after driving him home from court on Oct. 7. She declined to comment on his arrest."
John Kaleel, 69, fled the United States on Oct. 8 while facing a retrial on multiple counts of sexually abusing a student and disappeared during juror deliberations at the Airport Courthouse. He taught private piano lessons in the U.S. for more than 25 years, including lessons for the children of creators of TV series Mad Men and Orange Is the New Black. A Sheriff's Department investigation began in 2015 after a teenage student reported years of inappropriate conduct. Kaleel was taken into custody by Australian Federal Police on Oct. 31 and is expected to be extradited to Los Angeles County to face sentencing after convictions for lewd acts with a child.
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