Teen Actor Accuses Songwriter, Chip Deffaa, of Exposing Himself During Hike (Updated)

The images and names of the minor involved are listed with the consent and encouragement from the minor and his family.

Warning: The following story contains details of alleged sexual abuse.

Actor Erich Schuett has accused playwright and songwriter Louis “Chip” Deffaa of exposing himself while the two were on a hike earlier this week. The 16-year-old posted a detailed account of what occurred on his Facebook page. While he doesn’t directly name Mr. Deffaa in his post, he included a snapshot of a prior arrest involving Mr. Deffeaa for sexual assault of a minor in 1983.

In our conversation to comment on the allegation, Mr. Deffaa confirmed much of Mr. Schuett’s statement. While he admits that he got naked in front of Mr. Schuett and went swimming naked, he denies that he “exposed” himself and says he didn’t make any sexual advances on the teen. He also expressed that he doesn’t think he did anything wrong and that “absolutely no crime took place.”

I also spoke with Mr. Schuett’s family who provided documentation of the interactions with Mr. Deffaa after the incident.

According to Mr. Scheutt’s statement, he was asked by the 69-year-old playwright to go on a hike last week. After picking Mr. Schuett, the two drove 90 minutes away from the city to a remote area in Sussex County, NJ.

The two hiked for approximately a quarter of a mile when they came upon a favorite lake of Mr. Deffaa’s.

According to Mr. Scheutt, who has appeared in productions with the Lyric Opera and the national tour of The Sound of Music,

“ I started skipping some rocks. After a minute or so I looked up in complete shock that he was standing naked in front of me. He said he was going skinny dipping and invited me to get naked and join him.

I said “NO” and he continued to invite me to join him, even suggesting finally when I had said NO more than once that I just leave my boxer shorts on if I was uncomfortable.”

His entire statement can be seen here:

Mr. Schuett states that he also took a picture of Mr. Deffaa with his phone when he was naked to preserve evidence of what had just occurred.

Given the remote area they were in, he couldn’t get a signal on his phone but when his signal returned, he texted, “Dad, I need help. This is bad.” His father told him he would leave immediately leave to pick him up.

Mr. Schuett’s statement continues:

“He finally came back to the car – I played it cool because I was afraid of his reaction after I rejected his advances. While in the car my Dad’s texts came through – he was already on his way to get me, and he told me to tell him to drop me off someplace close and that we were going fishing.

He dropped me off and left me alone at a convenience store near the highway without confirming that my Dad was actually coming or was even close by. My Dad finally picked me up and we headed home.”

In emails obtained by OnStage Blog after speaking to his family, Mr. Schuett found the old press clipping and sent it to Mr. Deffaa on June 30th along with the message, "You will NEVER be alone with another minor again.”

The press clipping is from The Record in Hackensack, NJ, and dated May 26th, 1983. They reported that Mr. Deffaa was arrested on charges of sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy. Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Deffaa has raped the minor eight times between April and October of 1981. However, according to Mr. Deffaa, those charges were later dropped.

Mr. Deffaa responded to Mr. Schuett’s email by explaining those charges and that he felt he hadn’t committed a crime at the lake with him. He states

Dear Erich:

In response to your Email.... I'm an openly gay male. And always have been. As everyone knows. Forty years ago, it was a crime to be homosexual. In that era of witch hunts, erroneous charges were often made. Those charges you refer to were, of course, dropped, and my record was expunged. Those were spurious charges and they were dismissed.

I do not wish to relive those painful times again. Please respect my wishes and respect my life. I've done nothing illegal.

I would never ask you, or anyone, to do anything illegal. And you certainly know I've always gone skinny-dipping in those lakes. Which is hardly a crime. You even recorded--and did a terrific job--that autobiographical song I wrote about skinny-dipping in those lakes, "Crater Lake Blues."

CHIP

At this point, Mr. Schuett’s father, Rick, responds to Mr. Deffaa.

“While Erich may have sung a song that included lyrics that involved skinny-dipping, that in no way meant that he wanted to go skinny dipping with you, or understood that you planned to go skinny dipping,” he wrote.

“You never mentioned that you planned to go swimming, only hiking. If Erich knew you wanted to swim, he would have brought a suit and towel along, but you never shared with him that this was your plan all along…This entire concept of going swimming was never discussed, and certainly not going skinny dipping.”

It’s at this point Mr. Deffaa’s tone in the email changes and he lets the parents know that Mr. Schuett’s actions violated his privacy and that their son may not be telling the truth. It reads,

“Rick, After consultation on this matter, I've been advised to remind you of a couple of key points. First, you and your wife have told me that your son photographed me naked without my knowledge or permission. As I'm sure you must know, it is illegal to photograph anyone naked without permission. And it is illegal to disseminate such photos. (In addition, even if we were to set aside the issue of nakedness, it is improper to even take a photo or video of anyone without their permission, as you are well aware given your son's history.) But photographing someone naked without their knowledge or consent, as you've said your son has done, is a felony in NJ. And is despicable.

Second. I understand that parents like to believe that everything their son has told them is 100% the truth, is wholly accurate, and is not in any way embellished or invented. But your description of what you think transpired contained untruths and inaccuracies. (And again, you should reflect on your son's history.) Your wife said she intends to inform other mothers as to what she believes occurred.

I must remind you that if anything is said or written that might be considered slanderous, libelous, defamatory, or damaging to my reputation. I will seek all available legal means of address. Contrary to what you've implied on the phone, I have done nothing improper or illegal. I've never been convicted of any crime. I'm proud of the life I lead. Your son is a skillful actor and I wish him well. But I respectfully suggest, before you tell me how I should live my life, that you get your own house in order. Chip Deffaa

The parents did file a report with the Sussex Country Sheriff’s department earlier this week and an investigation is ongoing.

I spoke with Mr. Deffaa who confirmed much of what Mr. Shuett stated. He admitted that he took Mr. Schuett on a hike, to a location in NJ and after coming upon the lake, proceeded to get naked and go swimming.

Mr. Deffaa also had first told me that nothing wrong happened because Mr. Schuett saw “nothing more than he would have if he was in a locker room at the YMCA.” Mr. Deffaa told me he often swims nude in that lake which he referred to as his “secret sacred” lakes from screenshots of texts sent to Mr. Schuett. “I even wrote a song about it!” he told me. He’s referring to his song, “Crater Lake Blues”, which describes two friends skinny dipping.

Mr. Schuett had previously performed the song and Mr. Deffaa claims the two were singing it on the way to the lake that day. Mr. Schuett stated that he did sing the beginning of the song but not much more of the song after that.

Mr. Deffaa also stated that, at no time, did Mr. Schuett look like he was in distress about the situation. “He even thanked me for a great day,” he told me.

As for the photograph, Mr. Deffaa confirmed that he saw Mr. Schuett take a picture but doesn’t know if it contains him. However, he told me that Mr. Schuett didn’t tell him he was going to take a picture.

“He tells me to swim near him and then he takes a picture with his phone,” he said. “I feel I’m being set up.”

Mr. Deffaa finished our conversation by telling me he would welcome speaking with authorities because “absolutely no crime took place.”

According to Mr. Schuett’s family, given Mr. Deffaa’s well-documented past of working with young performers, that’s where their concerns lie.

Updates:

7/5/2020

After this article was initially published, Mr. Deffaa contacted me to reiterate that he denies that he “exposed” himself to Mr. Schuett. He also added that Mr. Schuett gave him verbal consent to get naked.

I need to make it clear that in our first conversation, initially asking him for comment, while Mr. Deffaa claimed that Mr. Schuett seemed to not have a problem with him getting naked and that he didn’t seem bothered by it, Mr. Deffaa never explicitly told me that Mr. Schuett had given him verbal consent to get naked. Mr. Deffaa made that point to me the next day in conversation after the article was published.

Mr. Deffaa also sent the following comment to me, via email, on the morning of 7/5/20:

“I told Erich that I usually went skinny-dipping at that lake.  I asked him if he'd be comfortable if I went skinny-dipping today.  He said that would be fine, he'd have no problem with that.  I swam for close to an hour.”

Mr. Schuett and his family deny Mr. Deffaa’s claim that Mr. Schuett gave him verbal consent to get naked.

They point out that in the initial email communications(which are displayed earlier in the article) between Mr. Schuett and when questioned by the family, where Mr. Deffaa never claims that Mr. Schuett gave him verbal consent to get naked.

“Any normal person would have said this as their first point so as to attempt to diffuse the situation,” they told me.

The family also provided me a screenshot of the initial texts that Mr. Schuett sent his father. Mr. Schuett doesn’t indicate to his father that he gave verbal consent to Mr. Deffaa to get naked and it does show that he was in distress over the situation.

The family also shared with me Facebook messages of Mr. Deffaa inviting Mr. Schuett for a hike at the lake. At no point in either message does Mr. Deffaa indicate that he was planning on going swimming. All Mr. Schuett knew was that he was going on a hike, he was not prepared nor did he bring anything to go swimming with(bathing suit, towel, etc).

7/7/2020

A second man has come forward with his own experiences with Mr. Deffaa. Performer Jonathan Russell recalls working with Mr. Deffaa when he was 15-years-old playing the violin for one of his shows.

On August 20, 2010, Mr. Russell received a Facebook message from Mr. Deffaa who talked about his recent trip to his favorite lake and how he thought of Mr. Russell while he was swimming. He then makes a point to bring up the idea of bringing him to the lake the following summer and also suggests bringing along a friend who was 13-years-old at the time. The key here is that he makes of point of telling Mr. Russell that the invite is for him and not his parents. Mr. Russell told me that Mr. Deffaa often referred to him as his “Violin Boy”, a name given to him after a friend wrote a song for Mr. Russell.

Here are screenshots of that message.

Mr. Russell would later quit working for Mr. Deffaa.

It’s unknown if the lake Mr. Deffaa is referring to is the same lake that he brought Mr. Schuett to. However, this brings up the question of why Mr. Deffaa asked another minor to go for a hike and swim at a remote location and emphasized not to bring his parents.

I emailed Mr. Deffaa these screenshots and asked for his comment, I will post it here if/when he responds.

7/16/20

It’s been reported that a complaint has been filed by the New Jersey State Police against Mr. Deffaa for Lewdness. He has a court date set for August 8th, 2020. According to NJ state law, as a Disorderly Persons Offense, Lewdness can put one in a county jail for as long as six months and exact a $1000 fine.

We will continue to update this article with new information as it becomes available.