Last year’s American Idol runner up David Archuleta made headlines for the fact that he was so talented at the young age of 17 and also because his father, Jeff, was said to be so controlling and pushy that he was banned from the set of American Idol. A year later and Archuleta’s dad is making headlines for entirely different bad behavior. Jeff Archuleta got caught up in a police raid of a local massage parlor in which he admitted to cops to receiving sexual favors from prostitutes:

The father of American Idol runner-up David Archuleta was charged with soliciting a massage parlor prostitute, stemming from a raid in January.

David Archuleta, a seventh season fan favorite, lost to David Cook. He released his first album in late 2008.

Jeff Archuleta pleaded no contest and paid a $582 fine after being busted at the Queens of Reiki on Jan. 14 in Midvale, Utah.

During the raid, Midvale officers found one client receiving services, according to news reports.

“Two of our detectives went back to that room to stop the activity,” Midvale Police Sgt. John Salazar told news outlets. “Inside they found a female masseuse and male client. At that time an interview ensued and the male client admitted to receiving sexual gratification from the masseuse.”

Jeff Archuleta, 41, was that male client, according to court documents.

But his lawyer Eric Bauer told NBC4 in Midvale that he was there getting legitimate massage therapy for his back.

[From US Weekly]

David Archuleta’s parents filed for divorce back in 2002, but reconciled when David won the $100k top prize in Star Search at the time. It looks like the money, and focus on David’s career, helped keep them together. You wonder how much longer Mrs. Archuleta is going to stick around now that the whole world knows her husband is visiting seedy massage parlors. Yeah right he was getting treatment for his back. That’s why cops read you your Miranda rights – so you get a chance to think for a minute, maybe consult a lawyer, and not admit that you’re guilty. It possible that there was no denying it, though, if the police walked in at a critical moment.

Update: Here’s a better description of what went down, from Radar Online:

In an exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com, Detective Sgt. John Salazar of the Midvale Police Department explained that the investigation began with a call from a concerned citizen. A doctor who was renting a building for his practice had sublet some of the suites to what he thought was a legitimate massage business. When he noticed that the masseuse “therapists” were arriving in rather scanty outfits, he asked the cops to check it out.

“After determining that no business license had been issued for whatever was going on in there, I sent in an undercover officer to put eyes on,” Det. Sgt. Salazar said. “The next day, five officers, including myself, went in to shut them down.”

At the time of the raid, only one client was there. “He was just finishing up in suite number one. I sent two of the officers in and the male was on his stomach on the table with a masseuse in lace underwear.”

That client was Jeff Archuleta. “We read him his Miranda rights twice. The second time because he said he didn’t understand them the first,” said Salazar. “During the questioning, he said he’d found the place on Craig’s List. He was asked if he’d received any sexual services and he said he had.”

Archuleta was cited and released. He was not subject to a mug shot. The massage parlor never re-opened.

Erik Bauer, the attorney now representing Archuleta now claims this was the one and only time his client had ever been to the massage parlor and he only went for a back problem. Sexual contact, said the attorney, did not occur.

[FromRadar Online]

It looks like Archuleta should have called that attorney before he blabbed to police.

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