Drum school director arrested by the SAPD and charged with sexually assaulting a teen

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying additional potential victims of a registered sex offender currently facing multiple felonies for committing lewd acts on a teenage boy.

Patrick Michael Costello, 56, of Orange, was convicted in 2014 of sending inappropriate text messages to another teenage boy. That conviction requires that he register as a sex offender.

On February 6, 2020, Santa Ana Police arrested Costello on suspicion of offering a teenage boy money in exchange for sex acts.

Costello is currently charged with ten felony counts, including six felony counts of lewd act on a child 14 or 15 years old, three felony counts of annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18 with a prior conviction, and one felony count of oral copulation of a person under the age of 18.

He faces a maximum sentence of 9 years in state prison if convicted on all charges.

Costello is currently out on bail. He is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial hearing on August 18, 2020 in Department C57 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

According to Costello’s LinkedIn profile, he is the founder and director of Synergy Drum Corps, which is a private drum school with no affiliation to the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Anyone with additional information regarding additional potential victims is asked to contact Santa Ana Police Detective Gerry Corona at 714-245-8343, gcorona@santa-ana.org or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

Deputy District Attorney Don Marc Dimaranan is prosecuting this case.