CA Youth Theatre Director Abused Children for Decades

CW: Abuse (physical, mental, emotional, verbal, sexual), Child abuse/pedophilia

This November, Joseph Brian Houg will be standing in a courtroom awaiting his fate. That fate will be whether or not he’ll be serving the maximum sentence of 35 years for 10 felony counts of child molestation, which he plead no contest to last week in CA.

While Houg will certainly be spending a substantial amount of his remaining life in jail, it doesn’t necessarily repair the damage he inflicted on the youth theatre community in Los Gatos for decades. Because Joseph Brian Houg regularly used his positions in the school and theatre to abuse children.

According to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, the investigation began in May of 2020 after a 13-year-old boy reported that Houg repeatedly requested to see the boy’s abdominal area during a one-on-one Zoom call. This victim reported that a second 13-year-old male had experienced a similar incident. The second victim described that Houg asked to view a pair of the boy’s underwear during a separate one-on-one Zoom call.

As the investigation continued, a third victim came forward and told authorities that Houg had molested him in 2008 when he was in 5th grade, during a physical education class.

It should be noted that in 2009, Houg founded the Los Gatos Youth Theatre. At the time, Houg claimed he founded the theatre organization to provide more performing opportunities for youth in the area. Their first production in the summer of 2009 included 38 kids in a performance of Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka KIDS.

Following the allegations, police executed a warrant of Houg’s residence. Detectives found several electronic devices revealing “a plethora of behavior indicative of a pedophile,” a report stated. Recordings of Houg’s class performing yoga exercises, videos of young boys changing clothes, and videos and images of children in underwear were among the uncovered storage. During their investigation, they also uncovered more incidents of child molestation.

On Sep. 3, authorities arrested Houg and he was charged with Lewd and Lascivious Acts with a minor and several counts of Annoying and Molesting a Minor.

In the aftermath of the arrest, LGUSD Superintendent Paul Johnson sent out an email to all district families confirming that the district “took prompt action by placing Houg on administrative leave to remove his contact with students.” Johnson ended the email by assuring parents that “the safety of the students entrusted to our schools is our greatest responsibility, and we act decisively when anything threatens to compromise that safety.” Houg would later resign his position with the school.

Officials at the Los Gatos Youth Theater also released their own statement. They stated they were “shocked and saddened to be informed Sep. 3 of the arrest and charges were filed against (Joseph)Brian Houg after they received word of the allegations in June of 2020. Houg resigned from his role at LGYT and had not had any contact with the organization since that date.

The company went on and expressed that their “main concern is the wellbeing of children and families impacted by this announcement. We encourage all those impacted to talk with trusted adults in their lives and seek support as needed.” LGYT pledged to “continue to assist the investigation in every way possible.”

I spoke with one parent whose children regularly performed with the group. They expressed both shock and sickness over the charges. “Yes, I was very surprised to hear all of this. We trusted “Brian” with our kids for hour upon hours of the day. To think he was using theatre as a means to get access to kids is terrifying.”

Houg will be sentenced on Nov. 29, according to Santa Clara County Superior Court records.

There are thousands upon thousands of amazing youth theatres across this country that are staffed with the very best, who want nothing more than to provide incredible opportunities for your kids But tragically, we’ve seen too many instances where some people use this outlet as an opportunity to abuse kids. We see it every year. We saw it with Christian Youth Theatre in San Diego and we’re seeing it here in Los Gatos.

There are resources out there where abuse like this can be reported, whether it’s national hotlines or the authorities themselves. But too many times these acts go unreported because of fear of retribution or, unbelievably, because people are worried they might lose stature within the theatre community. That needs to end. Incalculable damage can occur when victims are ignored.

While there will always be monsters in this industry, we need to do a better job of uncovering who they are and stopping their abuse before it continues.

Those in need of support can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1(800)-(656)-(4673).