I still remember the first time I saw Kopi Sotiropulos. A reporter was doing a live standup at the Greek Festival when viewers were treated to the cartoonish image of a costumed Kopi passing quietly in the background, until he happened to turn and see the camera crew. Kopi made a beeline for the reporter and was immediately on air. His appetite for the spotlight was charming, given his huge smile and his obvious love for the festival and the people who had come to enjoy it. I have been a fan ever since.

By Michael McKneely

Opinion

But the allure of the spotlight also motivates those with less caring hearts. The coverage of the juvenile murder cases against Cassandra Michael and Byron Rangel has provided that stage for Stephen Quick.

The death of a child has to be among the most painful things a human can endure. Many of us know good men and women who carry those wounds. But all of us know survivors of sexual assault, more likely dozens of them. It may be extremely difficult to talk about the loss of a child, but the wounds of sexual assault are suffered in a silence of a different kind. Is it any wonder? Nobody asks the father of a murdered child what he was wearing.

Whitewashing a Rape

Last month in a downtown courtroom, an 18-year-old woman acknowledged under oath that she had been raped in April 2025, and that videos of her assault were distributed on social media by the rapist. Jane Doe was not permitted to describe her assault, because the facts of her assault were not relevant to the matter at hand: the killing of her rapist.

When I later read Stephen Quick’s words, that his son was murdered “based on lies,” I knew instantly what he was implying, and about whom. In a just world, the young man Jane Doe described under oath would have been the one sentenced this week, for what he did to her and to others.

Instead his killing has whitewashed his conduct and handed a microphone to the man best positioned to have stopped it. His classmates knew. His school knew. Mr. Quick is now suing the parents of Cassandra Michael and Byron Rangel on the theory that parents answer for what their children do. It is a theory worth applying evenly.

Related Story: Cassandra Michael Sentenced to 7 Years in Caleb Quick Murder

Here is what changed for me this week. I used to think the worst thing a man could do with a camera was hog it. Kopi ran to the lens to pull the whole festival into the frame with him. Mr. Quick runs to it for the opposite reason, and every time he does, a young woman who told the truth under oath, and whom a judge has wisely ordered the cameras to leave alone, gets pushed a little further outside the picture, where she cannot answer.

Kopi ran to the camera to let everyone in. Mr. Quick runs to it to keep one person out. I miss Kopi. Not because he was harmless, but because he knew what a camera was for.

About the Author

Michael McKneely is a Fresno criminal defense and victims’ rights attorney. He represents the witness identified in the Cassandra Michael proceedings as Jane Doe.

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