Former director gets no jail time

It was around the time of her 16th birthday, making it 14 years ago this month, that Elaina Kroll said her Laguna Niguel choir director sexually abused her.

Albert Lee Schildknecht, then the music director at St. Timothy Catholic Church, was a married man and 44 years old, nearly three times Kroll’s age.

“He was a father figure,” Kroll said. “Like a good girl, I obeyed.”

For nearly two years from that day, Schildknecht sexually abused her. There were sexual encounters in his car, in the parking lot outside The Gypsy Den in Costa Mesa and even at a local park.

Kroll remembered learning how he taught her to hear two- and four-count beats. It wasn’t with a tap on a desk or a knee, it was with an intimate squeeze of her hand.

“This man, Albert Lee Schildknecht, violated me over and over again...he violated my mind and my spirit,” Kroll said. “This supposed love, mentorship and companionship came at a price.”

For Kroll, that price was years of resentment, intimacy issues and problems with her self-image.

Even after she left for college in Boston, to “get as far away from him as possible,” it took years to completely lose contact with her abuser, she said.

Then two years ago, at the urging of those closest to her, she went to police with her past.

Friday, Schildknecht faced sentencing as part of a plea agreement to two felony counts of oral copulation with a minor and digital penetration of a minor.

Schildknecht, 58, could have faced more charges had Kroll come forward years earlier, but the statute of limitations on the crime limited prosecutors’ case.

Schildknecht was sentenced to five years’ formal probation and must register as a sex offender, a black mark on the churchgoing man’s reputation, prosecutors said. He is not allowed to have contact with minors unless under the supervision of another adult and with the consent of his probation officer.

Schildknecht will not serve jail time. Prosecutors fought for Schildknecht to be put behind bars, but the plea deal was an agreement extended by the court.

“The problem with these charges are they’re discretionary,” said deputy Dist. Atty. Jennifer Walker. “All we can do is make our argument.”

Schildknecht chose registering as a sex offender and the probation over a year behind bars and not registering, Walker said.

Friday, Schildknecht told the judge before sentencing that he was sorry for what he did all those years ago.

“I deeply apologize to the court and humbly ask for mercy,” he said.

At the time, Kroll acted mature for her age, like an adult, he said.

“I was an adult, I should’ve known better,” he said. “I’m a good man who made a horrible mistake and will live with the regret and stupidity the rest of my life.”

Kroll and Schildknecht did not appear to make eye contact inside the Santa Ana courtroom Friday and avoided each other in the halls.

While he asked for leniency with the court, Kroll pleaded with the judge for jail time.

“Today there was an opportunity to face the person who wronged me. I’ve had to live with the guilt and shame this man introduced to my life,” she said. “It is my hope after today I don’t have to live with this anymore...

“Today, Jan. 30, this all gets changed. Your honor, I’ve served my time. It’s my wish that he now serve his.”

Though Kroll wanted him to serve jail time, she found solace in the fact he had to plead guilty and admit his actions, though she feels he’s not sorry.

“He would not have fought so hard if he was truly sorry,” she said. “Actions speak louder than words.”

Kroll said speaking out about the abuse is one of the hardest, strongest things she’s ever done.

She was one of four women who settled a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in 2007.

The women each settled for between $1.1 million and $3.2 million, said her attorney, Patrick Wall.

“Coming out was the way to go,” Kroll said outside the courtroom.

“If my work empowers victims or helps abusers understand that it is wrong,” it’s worth it, she said. “Our trials can be our greatest triumphs.”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].