Father, Stripper Fined Over Party for Son

A 42-year-old Thousand Oaks man and a stripper hired to perform at his son’s birthday party were each placed on three years unsupervised probation Thursday, fined $100 and ordered to perform 48 hours of community service work.

Craig Fritz and Candida Fleeman, 25, of Burbank pleaded no contest before Municipal Judge Bruce Clark to respective charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and committing lewd acts with a minor, according to Ventura lawyer Louis Samonsky Jr., who represents Fritz.

Samonsky said Fritz hosted the February party in an effort to keep his son Jason, then just a few days shy of 18, off the streets.

“This scared him and cost him a lot of money,” Samonsky said of the fine and legal fees.

He stressed that contrary to earlier reports, the elder Fritz did not hire or pay for the stripper. Friends of Jason split the cost among themselves, Samonsky said.

“We’ve determined who it was that paid the stripper,” he said, without naming anyone. “The [stripper’s] driver confused my client with one of the 18-year-olds who paid the stripper. They are both very big men.”

Ventura County sheriff’s deputies, armed with a search warrant, later discovered an alleged fake driver’s license in Jason’s room and arrested him on that charge.

Jason, also represented by Samonsky, is still waiting for arraignment.

Reiterating statements by deputies, Samonsky said stripper parties are not rare in the county.

“This is quite common among males and females when they turn 18--when they become an adult,” he said.