See the update at the end of this post from a Hebrew school where Scott Durzo taught P.E.
ORIGINAL POST, MAY 12, 7:02 A.M.: The Orange County District Attorney's Office and the Seal Beach Police Department are reaching out to the public in case there are other victims of a youth sport camp owner and former high school basketball coach who is charged with committing lewd acts on a boy attending the camp.
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Scott Anthony Durzo, 49, of Seal Beach, was charged Friday with nine felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, seven felony counts of lewd acts upon a child age 14 or 15, one felony count of sodomy with a minor, one felony count of displaying pornography to a minor, and a sentencing enhancement allegation for substantial sexual conduct with a child.
At an arraignment hearing Friday, the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) sought $1 million bail for Durzo, who faces up to 30 years in state prison and mandatory lifetime sex offender registration with a conviction. But the judge instead set bail at $250,000 and continued the arraignment to next month, when Durzo is expected to enter a plea.
Thirty years is also how long Durzo has owned and operated Scott Durzo's Total Sport Camp, a youth sport and recreation facility in Seal Beach, and he also ran sports programs that drew youths from that town as well as Surfside, Rossmoor, Los Alamitos, Los Altos, Long Beach, Cypress and Huntington Beach, according to Seal Beach Police.
Durzo also formerly coached basketball at Los Alamitos High School and is an amateur photographer.
Two weeks ago, a young man came forward and told Seal Beach Police that beginning in the summer months of 2005 when he was 13 and continuing until early 2009, Durzo engaged in lewd acts with him. They had met at Durzo's summer camp, the alleged victim explained, and on one occasion Durzo engaged in sodomy with the then-young teen. Durzo is further accused of showing the boy pornography on multiple occasions.
Since Durzo's arrest on Wednesday became public, additional alleged victims have contacted authorities, according to Seal Beach Police. Anyone else who believes they have been a victim of Durzo of who has additional information about the case is encouraged to contact Seal Beach Police Detective Mary Martinez at 562.799.4100, ext. 1110 (email mm*******@se*********.gov), or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Paul Carvo at 714.347.8794.
UPDATE, MAY 19, 6:30 A.M.: A Hebrew School where Scott Durzo taught physical education during the 2012-13 sent the following letter to parents recently:
NOTICE
The media reported yesterday about a past employee of the Hebrew Academy. This former employee was arrested by the police for allegedly committing acts of lewd behavior with a minor 8 years ago. Scott Druzo worked at the Hebrew Academy as a part time PE coach during the 2012 – 2013 school year and was not rehired for reasons only relating to education. No one has reported to the school nor does the school have any reason to believe that any improper incident happened on the school campus. All teachers are required to be fingerprinted and go through a background check; and that check must come back with no criminal record before the prospective teachers are employed at the school. This individual also went through that process.It is always helpful to be absolutely sure that none of our children were affected by this individual. With that in mind, parents might choose to discuss their child's experience related to this individual to ascertain that there is no concern. If you are concerned by anything your child conveys to you, you should call the designated detective for this case — Detective Mary Martinez at 562-799-4100 x1110. Our administration is always available to talk to parents about any concerns they may have. Please do not hesitate to call.
In these situations it is always better to err on the side of caution. It should be reassuring to our parents that at the Hebrew Academy, safety is our primary concern. We plan to run an assembly on being safe for our children in the near future. Please continue to read the newsletter to find out when this assembly is going to take place.
To be sure, The Hebrew Academy has caring and fine teachers who are well-trained and vetted for safety. We are very appreciative of our teachers who work so hard to ensure the emotional, physical and scholarly well-being of all our students.
Wishing you a hearty Shabbat Shalom!
Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.