Responding to allegations by attorneys for two girls who contend they were sexually abused by an imprisoned former Hollywood studio architect — and who seek sanctions imposed for his alleged refusal to answer written discovery questions — the imprisoned defendant says he’s been beaten in prison, transferred often and faced antisemitism.
The Van Nuys Superior Court suit names as defendants both the architect, Jeffrey Cooper, and the Calabasas Shul. The plaintiffs are identified only as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2.
In a sanctions hearing scheduled for Jan. 9. In their court papers, the girls’ attorneys maintain Cooper has disobeyed a Nov. 15 court order to provide adequate responses to discovery requests.
But in his court papers filed Wednesday with Judge Huey P. Cotton, Cooper attorney Francis S. Ryu maintains his client has faced many obstacles in prison and was moved often before he was brought to his current housing at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco.
“These transfers occur without any advance notice,” Ryu says in his court papers. “As a result, defendant’s family, lawyers and friends often did not know of his whereabouts and were unable to communicate with him.”
Cooper, 72, also has had periods of solitary confinement and for many months he was precluded from using the telephone and from seeing visitors, Ryu states in his court papers.
Cooper was attacked by kother inmates in August and October of 2022, leaving him with hearing losses that prevail as well as headaches and memory loss, Ryu further maintains in his court papers.
“These factors have contributed to defendant’s inability to timely respond and to participate in this litigation,” Ryu states in his court papers.
Cooper has experienced and faces possible harm due to his age, Ryu maintains in his court papers.
The lawsuit was filed July 25, 2022, the same day Cooper was sentenced to eight years in state prison by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Alan Schneider, who also ordered him to register as a sex offender.
Cooper was convicted in May 2022 of three felony counts of lewd acts on a child involving Jane Doe 1, who was between 12 and 13 years old between 2005 and 2007 when she was abused at his home and later reported what had happened to authorities, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Jurors deadlocked on charges against Cooper that involved his second accuser, who was 6 years old when Cooper allegedly began grooming her.
Cooper testified in the criminal case and denied the allegations. He said there were multiple adults around at all times, including parents and the grandparents of one of the girls, who were longtime friends of the Coopers.