Cerritos, CA Former La Habra Heights Fire Chief John Nielsen was arrested earlier this week at his Cerritos home for misdemeanor child annoyance. Nielsen is accused of sending sexually suggestive text messages to a 15-year-old student at the Orange County High School for Performing Arts.
A long time ballroom dance teacher, Nielsen, 53, has been unavailable for comment but earlier today a woman who answered the door at his house asked that his attorney be contacted for further comment.
Jonathan Piper of Lipton & Piper LLC, a law firm based in San Francisco, initially spoke on behalf of Nielsen in a phone call earlier today. When asked whether he believed his client was innocent, he said he had no comment.
In a later call to the firm, Piper’s partner, Arthur Lipton, stated that he had not yet received a formal complaint from the Santa Ana Dist. Attorney. When asked if he would be at the arraignment in Santa Ana, Lipton responded that he was not sure that he or his partner would be representing Nielsen.
When pushed on the issue, Lipton said that the firm had represented Nielsen in the past, but did not specify under what circumstances. Lipton initially denied that his firm had been speaking on Nielsen’s behalf, and when told that Piper had answered a question that referenced Nielsen as his client, Lipton responded, “I have no comment.”
According to a former council member, Nielsen had two formal complaints filed against him prior to the 2008 sexual harassment civil suit but that the city council has decided not to follow-up. The suit was later settled out of court costing the city of La Habra Heights $375,000.
Neighbors also reported that Nielsen had previously played Santa Claus at a local elementary school and that on the day of the arrest, Nielsen’s wife, acting as a surrogate for her sister, had just given birth.
In 2009 Nielsen was featured in a reality show on The Learning Channel called Dancing Tweens. The show featured children 12 and under who were participating in ballroom dancing competitions. Nielsen coached two of the dancers who were featured in the show and who belonged to his former dance studio, Interdance.
Nielsen is out on a $15,000 bond. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail and a permanent sex offender registration.
.Interview Attempt with John NielsenJohn Nielsen on TLC