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Shane Sparks Plans to Fight "Bogus Allegations" of Child Molestation
Shane Sparks is preparing to fight child molestation charges, which his lawyer tells TVGuide.com may be an extortion attempt. "I'm very confident that we will prevail in our attempt to clear his name," Sparks' lawyer, Steve Meister, tells TVGuide.com. "We are going to forcefully and aggressively defend him against what we believe to be completely spurious and bogus allegations." The So You Think You Can Dance choreographer and America's Best Dance Crew judge was arrested Friday on eight counts of felony child molestation. He was taken to...
Shane Sparks is preparing to fight child molestation charges, which his lawyer tells TVGuide.com may be an extortion attempt.
"I'm very confident that we will prevail in our attempt to clear his name," Sparks' lawyer, Steve Meister, tells TVGuide.com. "We are going to forcefully and aggressively defend him against what we believe to be completely spurious and bogus allegations."
TheSo You Think You Can Dancechoreographer and America's Best Dance Crew judge was arrested Friday on eight counts of felony child molestation. He was taken to a Van Nuys, Calif., jail, where he posted bail over the weekend.
America's Best Dance Crew judge arrested on child molestation charges
His lawyer believes that because of Sparks' blossoming career, the accusations have an ulterior motive. "This whole thing reeks of opportunism and exploitation," says Meister. "I think there's probably a financial motive here and I think the timing is beyond suspicious. The only option is to aggressively fight back."
With recent alleged extortion plots against John Travolta and David Letterman making news, Meister says Sparks is not worried others will step forward with similar claims.
"We live in a time when a lot of people see a celebrity as a target. If people smell an opportunity, they will abandon their morality and conscience for a quick buck," he says. "Shane has no reason to suspect that any decent person would do that, but I would warn any Shane opportunists to think twice before they come after him, because they'll be playing a game that they will very badly lose."
As for Sparks' current frame of mind, "He is shaken, but he's a very strong guy," Meister says. "He's a person of strong character and has a clear conscience. He knows he's going to weather this, fight through it. He's going to keep his feet on the ground like he always has and he's going to win."
Sparks, 40, is scheduled for arraignment Jan. 13. His lawyer plans to plead not guilty to all charges.