Man Pleads Not Guilty in ‘Talent Scout’ Case

A man who claimed to be a talent scout pleaded innocent Tuesday to molesting 14 college students.

The UCLA students allegedly were lured to the apartment of Michael Peers in 1998 with promises of jobs in the entertainment industry.

Prosecutors said Peers had the women fill out fake applications, and had some of them disrobe on the pretext of taking their measurements. Deputy City Atty. Brian Williams alleged that Peers then molested and battered them.

Peers was brought back to Los Angeles from Pennsylvania in late 1999 on a warrant, Williams said.

Peers, 50, entered his plea in Superior Court, where a pretrial conference was scheduled for Feb. 7. He faces 31 counts of battery, sexual battery, grand theft, unlawful penetration with a foreign object and unlawfully videotaping a person without their knowledge.

He remained jailed with bond set at $38,500.

On Thursday, a judge denied a request by Peers’ public defender, Haydeh Takasugi, to dismiss 19 counts on grounds that they were based on information not in the police report. However, Williams told the court the charges were based on videotapes that Peers allegedly made of the women.