Former Cake Drummer, Pete McNeal, Sentenced to Prison for Child Molestation
A former drummer for Cake, Pete McNeal, has been sentenced to 15 years to life in a California state prison for molesting a 3-year-old girl five years ago. He will also be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
According to the Los Angeles Times, McNeal molested the child during a Thanksgiving party in 2009, and was found guilty of “one count of oral copulation of a child 10 years old or younger” in 2013. This wasn’t McNeal’s first run-in with the law; as Billboard reports, he was previously charged with a misdemeanor for attempted molestation of a 6-year-old. He was sentenced to three years probation.
After the recording of Cake’s fourth album, ‘Comfort Eagle,’ then-drummer Todd Roper left and was replaced by McNeal. McNeal never appeared on a record with the band, but was featured in the music video for ‘Love You Madly.’ On the 2004 LP, ‘Pressure Chief,’ percussion was mainly handled by frontman John McCrea and trumpeter Vince DiFiore -- with Paul Baldi, Matt McCord and Roper contributing drums to a handful of songs. Baldi would eventually become the band’s official drummer.
McNeal also has served as a session drummer with the likes of Norah Jones and Mike Doughty.
The trial that found McNeal guilty in 2013 was actually the second in this particular case; the first ended in mistrial due to a hung jury.
Cake -- 'Love You Madly' Music Video