“American Idol” Alum David Archuleta’s Father Busted For Soliciting Prostitute
During a raid in mid-January on a massage parlor in Midvale, Utah, the father of last year’s American Idol runner-up, squeaky-clean Mormon David Archuleta, was arrested by police and charged with prostitute solicitation, a Class B misdemeanor.
According to Us Weekly, Jeff Archuleta, 41, who was the consummate stage dad during his son’s Idol run, has pleaded no contest to the charge, paying a $582 fine following his arrest at an establishment called the Queens of Reiki on January 14th.
Midvale Police Detective Sgt. John Salazar told RadarOnline.com that his department began investigating the massage parlor following a tip from a local doctor with a practice in the same building housing the massage business. After noticing some of the masseuses in flimsy outfits, he asked cops to look into it. Undercover officers were sent in, and after a five-day investigation, the place was shut down. Archuleta was the business’ sole client during the raid.
“He was just finishing up in suite number one,” Salazar said, adding that Archuleta told officers he found the massage parlor through Craigslist. “I sent two of the officers in and the male was on his stomach on the table with a masseuse in lace underwear. At that time, an interview ensued and the male client admitted to receiving sexual gratification from the masseuse.”
Archuleta’s lawyer, Eric Bauer, claims his client was getting legitimate massage therapy for his back at the time of the sting, and that no sexual contact had occurred.
Jeff Archuleta figured prominently in last year’s Idol, with various media outlets reporting throughout the season that he was influencing his son’s song selections. One report claimed Jeff was seen yelling at David following a recording session. Others suggested Archuleta had his son add a lyric from the Sean Kingston song “Beautiful Girls” into a rendition of “Stand by Me,” which upped licensing costs for the show; the move led producers to ban Jeff from backstage rehearsals.