Static-X Guitarist Charged In Two Separate Sexual Assaults
Static-X guitarist Tripp Eisen is in police custody in California after being arrested by authorities in two states on charges that include kidnapping, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges stem from two separate incidents involving sexual relations with minors.
On February 10, Eisen, whose real name is Tod Rex Salvador, was arrested on one felony count of crimes against children. Authorities from the Orange County (California) Sheriff’s Department found the 39-year-old musician sleeping in a parked car with an underage female with whom he’d just had sexual intercourse, according to Bergen, New Jersey’s The Record. Eisen was taken into custody and released on $100,000 bail several hours later.
On February 24, Eisen was arrested again — on charges of kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, luring to entice a minor through the Internet and endangering the welfare of a child — on a fugitive warrant by two detectives who had flown in from New Jersey. According to New Jersey State Police officer Kevin Rehmann, the guitarist, a former resident of the state, allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old Sayreville girl he had met through “Find-a-Freek,” an online community offered on Fetischmusic.com.
Rehmann said that Eisen began exchanging e-mails with the girl in October, and then arranged to meet her at a New Jersey shopping center on January 7. Eisen then drove to the mall from Pennsylvania, where he was visiting family, and he and the girl drove around in his truck before having “consensual” sex. Police became aware of the assault after the victim’s mother reported the incident to local authorities.
Eisen’s Fetischmusic.com handle was “groveryodadata.” On the guitarist’s profile, he said he was a Republican, boasted of holding a Ph.D., and expressed interest in meeting people of all educational levels, including “elementary” school. According to Rehmann, Eisen also claimed to be a 31-year-old fan of Static-X who dressed like Eisen. His last login was on February 23, the night before he was arrested.
If convicted, Eisen could face up to 30 years in prison on the kidnapping charge alone.
Eisen has been in police custody since his February 24 arrest, but was scheduled to appear in Central Justice Center Court in Santa Ana, California, on Monday afternoon (February 28). It’s expected the guitarist will remain in police custody in California until he’s cleared for extradition to New Jersey.
A statement released by Static-X on Monday read in part, “Static-X has parted ways with guitarist Tripp Eisen, effective immediately. Tripp is currently dealing with personal issues that prohibit him from being able to fulfill his commitment to the band. No replacement has yet been chosen. Static-X is in the studio putting the finishing touches on its fourth Warner Bros. album, scheduled to be released in May. The band will tour this summer in support of the record.”
