Former Ohio Dance Teacher Accused Of Sexually Abusing 9 Teenage Students Over 2 Decades
CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) — A former dance instructor at Cleveland School of the Arts and Cuyahoga Community College is accused of sexually abusing nine of his teenage students over two decades.
Terence Greene faces 74 felonies including rape, kidnapping, sexual battery and gross sexual imposition, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, citing an indictment handed down Thursday. The allegations span from 1998 to 2019.
Greene, 54, was initially charged on July 23 with one count of sexual battery in Cleveland Municipal Court. One week later, five former students named Greene and the Cleveland Board of Education in a federal lawsuit alleging that administrators failed to protect them from abuse from 2008 to 2012.
A Cleveland Metropolitan School District spokesperson said that Green was hired as a contractor, not an employee.
In 2003, a 14-year-old student alleged that he was abused at the Cleveland School of the Arts between April 2002 and June 2003, according to Plain Dealer archives. Common Pleas Court Judge Ann Mannen found Greene not guilty on four counts of having unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in a bench trial.
Greene continued to teach at the Cleveland School of the Arts. In 2014, seven former students accused him of sexual abuse. While he was never charged, the district didn't renew his contract after that. He was hired at the Tri-C Dance Academy in 2015 and became the program's director.
The school in a statment said it "took steps" to fire Greene after he was accused of sexually abusing a student there, but Greene was ultimately allowed to resign.
Greene is set to be arraigned in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Sept. 18 and could face life in prison if convicted. He was released after posting 10% of his $100,000 bond on Aug. 24.
Greene could not be reached for comment Thursday and his attorney did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment.
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