Help Sought in Case of Alleged Rape of Teen

Police asked for help Thursday in the case of a photographer who has been charged with raping a 14-year-old girl who came to his Burbank studio to have pictures taken for a modeling portfolio.

Authorities allege that Isidro Arroyo, 27, of Sun Valley, who ran a studio called CVS Productions at 274 W. Spazier Ave. in Burbank, took nude photos of the girl and then assaulted her as her mother waited in another part of the building.

Other photos of nude women who have not been identified were found when police searched the studio. Investigators are trying to determine whether Arroyo may have illegally photographed or raped other women, and asked for other clients to contact police.

The case recalls both the death of model Linda Sobek in November and the rape of an aspiring actress by a Burbank casting agent in 1993.

Police said Arroyo often solicited female clients at nightclubs, and they suspect he may have assaulted other women or girls.

Arroyo, who has pleaded not guilty, was arrested Dec. 20 and charged with rape with a foreign object, lewd acts upon a child and using a minor for sex acts, all felonies. He remains in jail in lieu of $225,000 bail, pending a court appearance next week.

The girl and her mother went to Arroyo’s studio on Dec. 9, both intending to have their photographs taken for modeling portfolios. The nude photographs were taken and the rape occurred while the girl’s mother was in another room, said Burbank Police Det. Matthew Miranda.

“She [the mother] was going to have her photos taken as well, and she was in another room getting her hair and makeup done to get ready for her photo session while this was going on,” Miranda said. “He basically talked [the girl] out of her clothes, one article at a time, then he sexually assaulted her.”

Police said CVS Productions, which moved to Burbank from Lincoln Heights in 1995, is run by Arroyo and several members of his family. No one could be reached at the business, in person or by telephone, to comment on the charges Thursday. But Miranda said Arroyo’s family believes he is innocent and that the 14-year-old girl seduced him.

In 1993, Burbank talent agent Wallace Kaye was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting nine aspiring actresses in his offices.