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David Leigh MacLeod was born in 1944 in Ontario, Canada. He was a producer, known for Ishtar (1987), Reds (1981) and The Pick-up Artist (1987). He died on December 6, 1998 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
- Overview
- Case
Real Name: David Leigh MacLeod
Aliases: None Known
Wanted For: Child Molestation
Missing Since: December 1989
Details: David Leigh MacLeod was the cousin of actors Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine as well as a movie producer in his own right, known for the box-office bomb, "Ishtar." During the 1980s, there were several allegations coming from the Bronx claiming he committed indecent activity around young boys, leading him to be accused of being a child molester. In 1986, he confessed to sexually assaulting three boys in their early teens. He spent just three years on probation for the assaults.
On August 22, 1989, just three months after his probation ended, a Ramsey, New Jersey patrolman was flagged down by a frantic eleven-year-old boy. He claimed that MacLeod had picked him up at his Bronx housing project, took him to a motel, and tried to molest him. The patrolman found him still at the motel. Since the boy was from the Bronx, the New York City police took over the investigation.
Investigators went to the boy's housing project and talked to several young boys and teenagers. They were all between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Several of them said that MacLeod had paid them to have sex with him. He would come into their neighborhood, pick them up, and return them after having sex. He would then have them try and convince other boys to come with him. They would even give them a "finder's fee" if they could recruit other boys to join him.
On December 7, 1989, investigators tracked MacLeod down, but he tried to flee in his car. This led to a fifteen-block high speed chase between MacLeod and the investigators. However, they were able to block him in and arrest him. He was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and criminal solicitation. He spent one night in custody and was released on $6,000 bail.
One week later, just before his hearing was set to begin, he met with his lawyer outside of the courtroom. She informed him that, in addition to charges in Brooklyn and the Bronx, several boys in Queens had accused him of molestation. After being informed of this, MacLeod told his lawyer that he had to make a phone call. He did not show up for his hearing and was never seen again.
Investigators discovered that MacLeod already had a record in Toronto stemming from sex offenses involving children in the 1970s. In 1993, MacLeod was indicted by a federal grand jury in absentia on six counts of interstate transportation of minors for prostitution. Investigators fear that he may still be targeting young boys.
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MacLeod's youngest child, David Leigh MacLeod, worked for Beatty for many years as an assistant. He was associate producer of Reds and Ishtar as well as co-producer of The Pick-up Artist. He was found dead in Montreal, Quebec in 1998.
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Dec 30, 1998 · David Leigh MacLeod was found dead three weeks ago in an underground walkway in downtown Montreal. He was just recently identified as the Hollywood movie producer and convicted pedophile who...
Dec 31, 1998 · Dec. 31, 1998 12 AM PT. <i> From Reuters</i> MONTREAL — Police said Wednesday they will run DNA tests on the corpse of pedophile David Leigh MacLeod to see if the Hollywood producer and...
Producer: Ishtar. David Leigh MacLeod was born in 1944 in Ontario, Canada. He was a producer, known for Ishtar (1987), Reds (1981) and The Pick-up Artist (1987). He died on 6 December 1998 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Jan 1, 1999 · MONTREAL – A former Hollywood producer and convicted pedophile found dead on a downtown Montreal street died of an irregular heartbeat. But what exactly caused David Leigh MacLeod’s hea…
