Man faces charges of sexually abusing children over 10 years

A Las Vegas man has been charged with sexually abusing young children over a period of 10 years in the Las Vegas Valley, according to police and court records.

Law enforcement documents show three young women told Las Vegas police in June that Hovsep Takhtadjian, 52, had abused them when they were youths. Las Vegas police said in an arrest report — much of which was blacked out — that they conducted an investigation into the allegations and determined multiple offenses against children occurred in Las Vegas between 2004 to 2014.

Police arrested Takhtadjian on June 20.

Attorney says man is innocent

An arrest report for Takhtadjian shows he repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in an interview with police. His attorney, Robert Draskovich, said Monday that Takhtadjian is innocent.

“These charges are a culmination of 15 years of rumors, taint and cross-contamination of the witnesses,” Draskovich said. “We’ve picked up in our investigation where the state left off. There is a whole other story to this.”

The arrest report states one woman told police she visited Takhtadjian’s residence when she was a young child and was sexually assaulted. When she left, Takhtadjian told her “she couldn’t tell her mother what occurred.” She said other instances of sexual abuse occurred later. She ultimately disclosed the details to her ex-boyfriend and then her therapist around the fall of 2018.

A second accuser met with police and was “visibly trembling” as she accused Takhtadjian of sexually abusing her as a child. The woman said the abuse happened multiple times starting when she was age 4. In one instance, she was forced to sit on Takhtadjian’s lap and then assaulted, she said. This young woman said she eventually disclosed the abuse to her friend and others.

She told police she found inspiration to speak out on Twitter through the #MeToo movement, tweeting publicly that she had been sexually abused as a young child. This, in turn, prompted a conversation with another young woman, who told her that she, too, was abused by Takhtadjian, according to the arrest report.

A third accuser was then interviewed by police. This young woman told police a similar account — that she was abused during visits to Takhtadjian’s home. The woman said she eventually disclosed abuse to her parents. They confronted Takhtadjian and his wife, who contended that the accuser was imagining or making up the accusations.

“Joe said he believed (one accuser) made the allegations against him because she was ‘going through some difficulties,’ ” the arrest report states.

Denies any abuse

Takhtadjian said he was a loving, attention-giving person. He would often play with children but never abused them, he told police.

“Joe told me that he has never been accused of anything by anyone else,” police said. “Joe encouraged me to ask ‘every single female in my life.’ ”

Takhtadjian, according to the report, acknowledged searching for preteen pornography on his computer a single time 10 to 20 years ago out of curiosity.

“He is a hardworking family man who has always put his family first,” Draskovich said. “These charges have come about in large part because of the success that he and his wife have experienced.”

Las Vegas Justice Court records indicate Takhtadjian is facing multiple felonies, including sexual assault against children under 14, lewdness with child under age of 14, and child abuse neglect. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 27 in Las Vegas Justice Court.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.