Dancer and Choreographer Alex Da Silva Arrested in Sexual Assault Cases

Alex Da Silva, a dancer, choreographer and teacher who has appeared on the Fox television show “So You Think You Can Dance,” was arrested in Hollywood on Saturday on suspicion of sexually assaulting four dance students, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Da Silva, 41, is being held on $3.8 million bail. He is expected to appear in court on Tuesday. Detective John Eum of the Los Angeles Police Department told reporters that Mr. Da Silva had been accused in 2003, 2004 and 2005 of sexually assaulting three women, but that prosecutors had not filed charges. On March 28, another woman accused him of luring her into his home and raping her. The recent accusation led police to reopen the earlier cases and interview those accusers again.




Source: nytimes.com

Dancer and Choreographer Alex Da Silva Arrested in Sexual Assault Cases

Celebrity choreographer accused of raping 4 women

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A dancer and choreographer featured on the FOX television show "So You Think You Can Dance" was arrested Saturday on suspicion of sexually assaulting four of his dance students, police said.

Alex Da Silva, 41, a well-known salsa dancer who teaches at several Los Angeles dance studios, was taken into custody after teaching a class at a Hollywood studio and booked for investigation of sexual assault, Det. John Eum said.

Da Silva, who was being held on $3.8 million bail, is scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday.

It wasn't immediately known whether the Brazilian-born Da Silva has retained an attorney. The voicemail for a phone number posted on his Web site was full and wouldn't accept messages.

Da Silva had been accused in 2003, 2004 and 2005 of sexually assaulting three women, but for unknown reasons prosecutors declined to file charges, Eum said.

Then on March 28, a fourth woman accused Da Silva of luring her to his home, using a ruse to get her into his bedroom and raping her. Detectives went back to interview the previous accusers, found similar accusations of being lured to Da Silva's bedroom and sexually assaulted by him, and reopened their cases.

"These four women don't know each other at all, yet their reports read basically the same," the detective said. He noted that one of the accusers was a minor at the time of the alleged assault.

"We're almost sure there are probably other victims out there and we hope they'll come forward," he said.

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Celebrity choreographer accused of raping 4 women