Cuyahoga County prosecutors need dance instructor accused of intercourse crimes in custody by subsequent week

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) – Once an icon in the northeast Ohio dance community, former dance instructor Desmond Beasley, 35-year-old Desmond Beasley, is facing dozens of criminal charges.

He is accused of sexually abusing his former students, some of whom were children at the time.

Prosecutors said there were six victims in this case, but they told 19 news that it was closer to 15.

However, they could not include everyone in this case as the statute of limitations for some of these crimes had expired.

“I’ve blamed myself for so long,” said Cassie Cotter. “It wasn’t until I asked for help that I realized that none of this was my fault.”

Last year, Cassie Cotter shared her horror story with 19 news.

She told us how her former dance teacher at Dance Dance Dance in Parma had looked after her since she was a child.

“He made me feel very safe and he made me feel like we’re such good friends,” said Cotter. “I mean, there were times when I was unemployed and had a bouquet of flowers on the hood of my car with a little note from him saying, I hope your day was good, I hope this will brighten your day even more as if he had made me feel very special at a time when I was really trying to find myself. “

This behavior escalated into sexually charged Snapchats and culminated in sexual assault in her freshman year of college.

“Especially when it comes to children and girls looking up to dance teachers and people in authority and watching them care for these girls,” said Jennifer King, assistant prosecutor for Cuyahoga County. “Yeah, it’s disgusting.”

Cotter reported these crimes to the Garfield Heights Police Department, and then other victims of the former dance instructor came forward and reported to several other law enforcement agencies.

“It’s disappointing that we allow these adults to take this kind of control and then manipulate and hurt our children,” King said.

The investigation, which lasted more than a year, revealed that Desmond Beasley had sexually abused three victims, two of whom were teenagers at the time of the attacks.

Prosecutors said Beasley’s victims were between 13 and 18 years old. Beasley faces dozens of charges, including eight rape cases, four sexual harassment cases, and one attempted rape case.

Beasley is not in custody and did not respond to these allegations.

“We don’t know when we’ll have him,” said King. “We know very well where his whereabouts are, but we don’t share that information. Hopefully we’ll have him in custody next week. “

According to the prosecutor, the incidents began in September 2013 and did not occur until February of this year.

“That has to do with a search warrant we wrote on his email accounts and there are additional child pornography charges that you see at the bottom of the indictment, adding that some of the child pornography was from his ex-students .

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office would like to encourage anyone watching who believes they may have been a victim to contact their office.

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