Nightclub owner Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian's bad week got worse Thursday with his second arrest in two days.
The founder of Club Paris was picked up on a warrant, according to Orlando police. It happened a day after police arrested Khalilian, 35, on a rape charge involving a former employee who told investigators he raped her last Friday at his condominium overlooking Lake Eola.
Orlando police said Khalilian was picked up because the rape charge on Wednesday violated probation he was serving for battery on a law-enforcement officer last year in Duval County. After speaking with the department's Fugitive Squad, police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones said the warrant was issued by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
But Khalilian's arrest affidavit filed at the jail stated that he was picked up for violating probation set in Orange County on Oct. 1. Community Corrections Officer Shantell Murphy wrote in jail records that she sought Khalilian's arrest for violating probation after she read about the rape case in Thursday's Orlando Sentinel. Khalilian's lawyer, Mark NeJame, said the probation stems from a 2-year-old battery case.
According to police records, Khalilian and an ex-girlfriend, Heather Dodt, were involved in a fight outside Club Paris at 3:20 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2005. Dolce Nightclub occupies the same Church Street Station building in downtown Orlando that housed Club Paris before it closed.
"This is a misdemeanor battery for a dispute with a former girlfriend," NeJame said. "This is an unfortunate consequence of the outrageous charges on which he was arrested. Our investigation is continuing, and every indication we have found shows he is absolutely not guilty of what he's been charged."
Delays in prosecuting the 2005 case began the day of the fight when Khalilian falsely claimed he had diplomatic immunity from arrest. As soon as police learned from the U.S. State Department that Khalilian, an Iranian-born U.S. citizen, was not a diplomat, they recommended he be charged with battery for hitting his girlfriend, Sgt. Rhonda Huckelbery said Thursday evening.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
