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Talent Mgr. Pleads Guilty to Annoyance / Molestation Joshua Werkman could face a year in jail for child annoyance/molesting.

March 13, 2008

By Nicole Kristal

Los Angeles-based talent manager Joshua Werkman, who formerly represented child actors such as twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody), pleaded no contest at the Ventura County Superior Court in California Feb. 29 to misdemeanor counts of child annoyance/molesting and of furnishing alcohol to an underage person. Werkman could face up to one year in jail and will have to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for April 2.

Ventura County deputy district attorney Rameen Minoui said he could not comment on the underlying facts of the case or verify the age of the victim, but a felony complaint document obtained by Back Stage, filed Aug. 30, 2007, and signed by Minoui, states that Werkman “did willfully and unlawfully touch an intimate part” of a 16-year-old boy Aug. 23. The complaint was later amended to the above misdemeanor counts, stating that Werkman “did unlawfully annoy a child, John Doe, under the age of 18 years.” The amendment, Minoui said, was not part of a plea bargain. “We don’t plea-bargain here in Ventura,” said Minoui. “What we do is we assess all the information and evidence, and then we file the charge that we can properly prove in court in front of a jury.”

But Werkman’s attorney Steven Cron of Cron, Israels & Stark said the amendment to the original charge speaks to the severity of the crime: “The original charge was [California Penal Code] 243.4[(a)], which is sexual battery, but that was a felony, and you know, the fact that the district attorney’s office reduced it to a misdemeanor says a lot about the severity of the activity.” The attorney also said, “By pleading no contest [Werkman] acknowledged that he used bad judgment on the day in question and accepted responsibility for his behavior.”

Staying Safe

Anne Henry, co-founder of the BizParentz Foundation — a nonprofit that provides education, advocacy, and charitable support to parents and children in the entertainment industry — said her organization has received complaints about Werkman for the past four years. “The most recent complaints were on sets in Florida and Texas where parents were calling us who were working as extras on those sets and he was talking to them about representation,” said Henry. “What parents found odd and what we [found] odd is that someone who was representing stars at the level of Cole and Dylan would be recruiting out of the extras tent at a movie shoot.” Henry, who noted that BizParentz played no role in Werkman’s conviction, said she also heard reports that Werkman held social gatherings for his clients.

Back Stage was unable to contact any of Werkman’s former clients. However, parents of young performers in the industry have strong feelings about the manager’s conviction. Jane Gordon, the mother of child actor Jonah Meyerson (The Matador, The Royal Tenenbaums), said of Werkman’s conviction, “It’s a sad commentary on what happens in this business, but I’m gratified that they got him.” Gordon said the bigger message of the Werkman case is that even established industry professionals shouldn’t be left alone with child actors. “[Parents] think, ‘Well, the person must be on the up-and-up if they have a marquee client.’ But here’s a perfect example of why that isn’t the case,” she said.

Isabella Nwankwo, mother of child actors Sarah and Flavia Nanko, said parents need to remember they have the sole responsibility of preserving their children’s welfare and that knowing someone in a professional capacity is not the same as knowing someone’s private life. “An acting child’s manager or agent is…responsible for the child’s acting career, not the child’s welfare,” said Nwankwo. “What would make me think that I could entrust my child’s health and welfare to a person just because I have hired him to help my child be successful as an actor?”

Out of L.A.

But parents of young performers don’t seem to be getting the message not to leave their kids alone with adults in the entertainment industry. Werkman’s conviction came the same day Broadway actor James Barbour (Beauty and the Beast) was sentenced in New York to 60 days in jail and three years’ probation for sexual encounters with a 15-year-old female drama student. As part of a plea deal, Barbour pleaded guilty in January to two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a minor.

On Jan. 31, Thomas Conrad Lowery, a Georgia man who served as a consultant to aspiring child actors, was convicted by a federal jury on charges of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; receiving child pornography; and possessing child pornography. According to a Department of Justice press release, Lowery faces up to 15 years for transporting the child, five to 15 years for receiving child pornography, and up to five years for possessing child pornography. Each count also carries a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release, it said.

To keep children safe, Minoui recommended that parents avoid buying into stereotypes about what child molesters look like and how they behave; they come in all different ages, backgrounds, and looks. “There is no way to tell someone’s sexual interest by their appearance,” said Minoui.

Henry said parents can keep their children safe by following one simple rule: “The one overall issue is if the parents would never let their kids be alone — ever, ever, ever, no matter what, even if you think you know the person — that would solve a lot of [problems].”     

This entry was posted on Friday, April 11th, 2008 at 1:45 pm and is filed under Modeling-Acting Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.