John Zeretzke

John Edward Zeretzke is an American teacher, flute player, composer, and convicted sex offender. After conducting flute making workshops with school children for many years, he was accused of lewd conduct with children in 2017 and other sex charges in 2019. Many of the charges are related to his flutes.^[1][2][3]

John Zeretzke
Genres	World music
Occupation(s)	Teacher, musician, composer
Instrument(s)	Flute, violin
Website

Teaching

Zeretzke taught music to children and young adults for over 30 years through the Los Angeles Music Center.^[4][5] He also taught summer programs through the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County.^[6]

Flutes Across the World

In 2009, Zeretzke founded and directed Flutes Across the World, a humanitarian and educational organization.^[7][8][9] It is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that registered in 2013.^[10]

For the program, Zeretzke taught students to make flutes out of PVC piping, corks and hot glue.^[2][11] Each student decorated two to send to children in the least developed countries.^[12] These flutes wound up in the Philippines, Central America and Haiti.^[13]

Film scoring

Zeretze composed the soundtracks for:

• Subspecies^[14]
• Bloodstone: Subspecies II^[14]
• Subspecies: The Awakening^[14]
• Leapin’ Leprechauns!^[14]
• Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns^[14]

Awards

• 1995 Horton Award for Music for Dance for Light (with Laura Dean)^[15]
• In 1999, Zeretzke's work with children was recognized with the Professional Artists in Schools Award.^[16]
• Zeretzke was given the 2009 Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award by the City of Ojai.^[17]

Criminal charges

Zeretzke was arrested in 2017 by Los Angeles County police and federal postal inspectors, who accused him of lewd conduct with children, coercing a girl to produce child pornography, attempting to entice another person to send him sexually explicit images, receiving child pornography over the internet, and traveling to the Philippines to engage in sex with minors. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and was held in the Orange County Jail.^{[1][2][3][18][19]} The California state attorney general announced on July 8, 2020, that he was sentenced in Orange County Superior Court to 18 years in state prison after pleading guilty to six counts of committing lewd acts against five girls under 14 by tainting their flutes with his semen.^[20] The acts were committed between January 1 and April 30, 2017.^[21]

References

1. Schwebke, Scott (June 28, 2019). "School girls in Costa Mesa, Castaic photographed using semen-tainted flutes, grand jury transcript reveals". Orange County Register. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
2. Queally, James (October 7, 2017). "Claims of semen-tainted flutes roil schools across Southern California". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
3. Schwebke, Scott (September 17, 2018). "Southern California man at center of tainted flute investigation arrested on child exploitation charges". Orange County Register. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
4. Boehm, Mike (June 24, 2015). "Music Center cuts back its arts education at schools". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
5. Oliande, Sylvia (January 30, 1998). "Composer Strikes Chord With Students". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
6. Pecy, Nathan (July 20, 2016). "Saddleback Valley Unified teachers, Segerstrom art instructors create a fun, interactive English learning experience for kids". Orange County Register. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
7. . Flutes Across the World. Archived from the original on October 16, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
8. "BUILDING BRIDGES THROUGH MUSIC : Ojai fundraiser Winds and Wines supports Flutes Across the World". VC Reporter. August 2, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
9. Estremera, Stella (January 9, 2016). "Flutes across the World: Gaining compassion through music and the arts". Sun Star (Philippine newspaper). Retrieved April 20, 2019.
10. "Flutes Across the World Incorporated". Charity Navigator. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
11. Pierce, Harold (August 8, 2015). "Flute program spreads music across the globe". Santa Ynez Valley News. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
12. "Pitch perfect: Campers create, send flutes to children in Phillipines". Santa Maria Times. August 14, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
13. "Flutes made by Circle V Ranch campers find their way to Phillipines". Santa Maria Times. February 26, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
14. "John Zeretzke". IMDb. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
15. Segal, Lewis (June 18, 1995). "Dance Center Bestows Horton Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
16. Heffley, Lynne (October 29, 1999). "Turn On That TV". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
17. Beirne, Christine. "Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award". City of Ojai. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
18. Schwebke, Scott (September 18, 2018). "Tainted-flute inquiry has link to Ventura suspect in child sex crimes". Orange County Register. Retrieved June 30, 2019 – via Ventura County Star.
19. Schwebke, Scott (2020-07-01). "Defendant in Southern California semen-tainted flute case agrees to plead guilty". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
20. Koon, Nick (2020-07-08). "Music teacher gets 18 years for lewd acts with schoolgirls". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2020-07-13 – via Associated Press.
21. Diskin, Megan (July 8, 2020). "Former Ventura music teacher sentenced to prison for molesting children". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 2020-07-13.

External links

• John Zeretzke at IMDb
• OVN In Depth John Zeretzke Interview from 2011 about Ojai World Music festival
• Flutes Across the World Video by John Zeretzke about Flutes Across the World