Architect to Hollywood stars arrested

A designer of movie theaters and sound studios pleads not guilty to child molestation.

An architect known for designing movie theaters and sound studios for some of the biggest names in Hollywood has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of child molestation involving two girls.

Jeffrey Cooper, 66, was arrested by detectives in the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Unit on Monday on suspicion of child molestation, court records show. Among the eight charges he faces, Cooper has been accused of oral copulation with a minor and penetration of a child younger than 10, sheriff ’s records show.

Nicole Nishida, a sheriff ’s spokeswoman, said the arrest came after an investigation into allegations that Cooper committed lewd acts with a minor between 2006 and 2016 in Calabasas. Nishida said the victims are two girls.

Cooper was taken into custody early Monday and held at the Lost Hills sheriff ’s station, Nishida said.

He appeared briefly in Superior Court in Van Nuys on Tuesday and entered a not-guilty plea. A judge set his bail at $5 million and set a hearing for July 5.

Booking records show Cooper’s address as that of Jeff Cooper Architects Inc. His website lists studios and big Hollywood names as clients, including George Lucas, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

His firm has designed such prominent venues as an Academy of Television Arts and Sciences theater and mixing studios that produced Oscar nominees for sound, according to the site.

In 2002, Cooper became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his contributions to acoustics and theater design.

Sheriff’s detectives are asking anyone with information about Cooper to contact them at (877) 710-5273.