Disney Music Executive Jon Heely Charged With Child Sex Abuse: The Case, Two Mistrials And A Dismissal
In a dramatic turn of events that shook the entertainment world, Disney music publishing director Jon Heely was charged with three felony counts of child sex abuse in December 2017. This article analyzes the case, its effect on Disney, and the larger context of sexual abuse charges in the entertainment industry.
The Charges and Arrest
A longtime Disney music publishing director, Jon Heely, was arrested on November 16, 2017, by the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station authorities. The charges leveled against Heely were serious, accusing him of the sexual abuse of two minors roughly a decade before his arrest. According to evidence later presented at a preliminary hearing, the two alleged victims were female family members who were between the ages of 11 and 16 at the time of the claimed offenses.
Heely was charged with abusing one of the victims between June 2006 and June 2010, the charges stated. The second victim was allegedly abused beginning around age 11 and continuing until she was 15. Prosecutors filed three felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child.
Disney’s Response
When Disney learned of the charges against Heely, the company moved quickly. Disney suspended Heely on December 8, 2017, the same day they said they learned of the charges. According to a Disney spokesperson, “Immediately upon learning of this situation tonight, he has been suspended without pay until the matter is resolved by the courts.”
The suspension came at a fraught moment for the company. It landed in the same window as misconduct allegations against Pixar co-founder John Lasseter, who took a leave of absence, and abuse charges against former Disney concert conductor James Levine, drawing fresh scrutiny to how much Disney knew about troubling conduct in its ranks.
Legal Proceedings
Heely was released after his arrest on $150,000 bail. He entered not guilty pleas at his arraignment in the San Fernando courthouse. Heely’s attorney, Robert Helfend, said, “He vehemently denies these allegations and we will be fighting until the end to clear his name. It’s a shame, that’s all I’ve got to say.” In February 2018, a judge held Heely to answer on the felony counts following a preliminary hearing, sending the case toward trial.
Two Mistrials and a Dismissal
The case did not resolve cleanly. In July 2018, after a four-day trial, the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict and the judge declared a mistrial, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors opted to try Heely again. That second trial ended the same way: on August 30, 2019, jurors told the court they were deadlocked, and a second mistrial was declared.
With two hung juries on the record, prosecutors set the matter for a third trial. Before that could proceed, on October 29, 2019, the defense asked the court to dismiss the case. Prosecutors opposed the motion, but the judge granted it. “The defense asked the court to dismiss the case. People opposed the motion. The court dismissed it,” D.A.’s Office spokesperson Ricardo Santiago said. Heely was never convicted of any of the charges, and under the principle of “innocent until proven guilty,” the dismissal closed the criminal case against him.
Impact on the Entertainment Industry
Heely’s allegations were part of a wave of sexual misconduct reckonings across the entertainment industry that gained momentum with the Harvey Weinstein revelations in late 2017. During that period, a striking number of powerful figures across Hollywood and other industries faced accusations, fueling a broader cultural reckoning.
Heely’s case appeared on a Vox list cataloging hundreds of high-profile figures accused of sexual misconduct since 2017. His prosecution also drew attention to Disney’s broader record: as CNN reported following a six-month investigation, dozens of Disney employees in Florida were arrested on child-sex-related charges over roughly a decade, with most of those cases ending in convictions. That pattern kept questions about child safety at major media companies in the public eye.
Conclusion
The accusations brought against Jon Heely, and the eventual dismissal after two deadlocked juries, serve as a sober reminder of how difficult historic child-abuse allegations can be to resolve in court, and of why protection and vigilance matter so much in industries that create work for and around children. The case kept concerns over child security and exploitation within the show business community squarely in focus.
This is a sensitive subject. If you or someone you know has been affected by child sexual abuse, support is available through organizations such as RAINN.
