Instead of calling this cinematographer what he is, a child rapist, the trades in Hollywood do what they always do, refer to him as a se.x offender like he was once charged with mopery or something.
That kind of minimalization is why the guy still gets work and still is a member of the Academy and has not been kicked out of town. The same thing happened for years with the disgraced director who didn’t really fall out of favor despite the numerous accusations against him until his partying got out of control and jeopardized the completion of a movie and loss of insurance.
Adam Kimmel
Disgraced director: Bryan Singer
How a Registered Se.x Offender Thrived in Hollywood
Adam Kimmel is the cinematographer of such acclaimed films as “Beautiful Girls,” “Capote” and “Never Let Me Go.” He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the American Society of Cinematographers, two esteemed organizations. He’s shot short films directed by Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. He’s a prolific director of photography of commercials, including for Nike and Toyota, and a cinematographer on the recent Leonardo DiCaprio racing documentary “And We Go Green.”
One thing you won’t glean from the list of Kimmel’s impressive credits on his IMDb page: He’s a registered se.x offender. Kimmel was arrested and charged twice for se.xual crimes against underage girls, once in 2003 and again in 2010.
The first charge — when Kimmel was 43 — involved se.x with an underage girl in New York City. According to the criminal complaint obtained by Variety from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Kimmel had vaginal intercourse with the girl five or more times from Aug. 6–10, 2003, when she was 15, and another five or more times between Aug. 31 and Sept. 3, 2003, at the same Manhattan address, after she turned 16. In New York, the age of consent is 17. (According to the complaint, the girl also “had se.xual intercourse with defendant when she was 15 in the state of Arkansas.”)
Kimmel was arrested in New York City in November 2003, and pleaded guilty to rape in the third degree in February 2004. Two months later, he was sentenced to 10 days of community service, 10 years of probation and 10 years on the se.x offender registry (it was changed to 20 years retroactively in 2006 because of a statewide change to the law).
But after Kimmel’s conviction, he didn’t miss a step professionally. In fact, his career hit new heights. Kimmel’s story reveals how little vetting there is on sets in Hollywood — and at legacy institutions as well.
In response to a detailed email from Variety about this story, Kimmel at first engaged an attorney, and then sent a response himself, which is quoted throughout the article.
He acknowledged the 2003 charges and his guilty plea, characterizing what he did as “consensual se.x with someone under the legal age of consent.” He writes: “By accepting this responsibility and the repercussions that followed, I was able to process this experience with an understanding and perspective that will be with me for the rest of my life.”
“While on probation, I adhered to all the requirements issued by the court and tried to resume my work and life,” Kimmel continues. “It’s important to say that there were never any restrictions or limitations placed on me that affected my ability to travel or work, and there has never been a single issue or problem in my professional life resulting from this issue.”
Accepting responsibility did not include disclosing his felony rape conviction, it appears. Kimmel was convicted as a Level 1 se.x offender, the lowest of three risk levels in New York state: “I was told that as a Level 1 registrant, my inclusion on the registry would not be made public,” he writes.
Read more on these Tags: Adam Kimmel, Bryan Singer
