[Ole Glory]

UPDATED: Santa Clarita council candidate arrested for alleged rape of 14-year-old girls

Santa Clarita City Council candidate Johnny Pride was arrested March 4 on suspicion of raping multiple victims younger than 18.
Dan Watson (The Signal)

By Signal Staff
Posted: March 5, 2010 10:54 a.m.
POSTED March 6, 2010 12:41 a.m.
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Santa Clarita City Council candidate Johnny Pride has been arrested on suspicion of raping two 14-year-old girls, a sheriff's report said.

Pride, 26, of Valencia, was booked on charges of rape, lewd conduct with a minor, sodomy, oral copulation of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the report stated.

He is expected to appear in court Monday.

The exact details of the alleged crimes could not be released because the victims were minors, said sheriff's Detective Brian Hudson of the Special Victims Bureau, which is heading up the investigation.

Detectives arrested Pride on Thursday at 5:37 p.m. He was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Pride was arrested just hours after participating in a candidates' forum at a Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Pride, a model and actor, has appeared in at least two reality television shows, including "The Conveyor Belt of Love," in which he wore only bikini briefs and held a dog, and in "The Battle of the Bods," which showed Pride wearing only boxer-briefs.

During his campaign for City Council, he said he works often with children and claimed to have started a nonprofit organization to bring them school supplies. However, the group he described was never registered with the state, as nonprofits are required to do.

Pride worked briefly for the William S. Hart Union High School District at Canyon High School in 2008 for less than a month, said district spokeswoman Pat Willett.

He was a walk-on coach and a substitute campus supervisor, though it was not clear which sport he coached, she said.

Just after he announced his candidacy, Pride's MySpace profile listed his hometown as "YOUR MOMS (sic) VAGINA" and his occupation as "Your moms (sic) boyfriend!"

He later changed his profile and told The Signal his MySpace profile had been hacked.

At the SCV Chamber of Commerce candidates' forum, Pride spoke about his involvement with the city's youth and families.

Jackie MacDougall, the co-founder of SCVmomsblog.com, asked all the candidates why they were the best choice for families.
Pride responded:

"Two years ago, I was a member of the city, state and national (Parent Teacher Association) and I have coached for the last three years in the city and I have dealt with numerous mothers," Pride said. "And I'll tell you what, I‘ve never seen a more active group."

The crowd laughed.

"Well, in a different way I've dealt with them, not in that way. I've heard their concerns and I know their struggle for safety, and they want the best for their children and I have dealt with that first-hand. So I know what they are looking for, and that is why I think I would be a great representative for the mothers out here."

Signal staff writers Jonathan Randles, Marianne Love and Brandon Lowrey contributed to this report.