Allegations Against Priest Shock Chorus : Scandal: Parents and former members question the accusations that the founder of boys group molested youths. Some say the clergyman was affectionate, but not improperly so.

Parents, associates and former members of the All-American Boys Chorus reacted with shock and disbelief Wednesday to allegations that Father Richard T. Coughlin, the popular founding director of the choir, sexually molested four of its members and one other youth 10 to 30 years ago.

“I am absolutely flabbergasted,” said Keith Evans, owner of Evans Associates, a Studio City entertainment production company that has been booking concerts for the choir since 1986. “I think this is slander. I don’t believe it at all.”

Charlie Beuglet, father of a 12-year-old choir member, found the news equally hard to fathom. “(The allegations) don’t seem real,” he said. “I have no reason to believe them. (Father Coughlin) is a very kind, gentle, good man. I have no reason not to leave my son with him.”

Coughlin, 68, was suspended from his duties as a priest and ordered to sever all ties with the chorus this week after allegations surfaced by the five men, now ages 23 to 45, that he had sexually molested them as boys. Officials of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange said none of the allegations involve current members of the chorus.

The well-known priest, who founded the internationally acclaimed choir in 1970, denied the charges, saying he “can’t recollect anything” that could have led to them.

Sean Tobin, a 28-year-old Corona del Mar bartender who sang in the choir from 1976 to 1979, a time during which some of the alleged molestations occurred, said he could not recall even a hint of impropriety during his years with the group. “I would have known if there was anything wrong,” Tobin said.

“I used to tour with the choir for months at a time and we were all very close. Mostly we talked about (the father) being a wonderful man with whom we could talk.”

While Coughlin sometimes kissed choir members, Tobin said, it was always on the forehead, never on the lips. “He was very affectionate,” Tobin said. “But not in a sexual way. Many of the kids had problems at home and his hugs were like between a father and a son.”

Those making the allegations “may have misinterpreted what was happening to them,” said Bill Hyink of Huntington Beach, whose 17-year-old son is a former chorus member and now works on stage lighting for the group. “This is a guy who could give a hug out of a warm mutual feeling. I never felt that there was too much affection shown.”

News of the allegations prompted a flood of telephone calls Wednesday to the boys chorus office on the county fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Former and current chorus members as well as a string of parents inquired about the allegations, according to Tony Manrique, a member of the group’s board of directors.

“They are supportive (of Coughlin) and want to know what to do to support (him),” Manrique said. “A lot of people are just shocked and want to talk a little bit.”

Chorus officials, meanwhile, were looking to the future. “This is a very bad time for us,” said Manrique, adding that it is important for the chorus to continue its work and move ahead.

The group needs to focus on “going full steam ahead and putting this behind us,” said board member John Bovaird.