CLEVELAND — A former dance instructor has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting multiple former students from 2013 to 2018 and for possessing child exploitative material.
Victims of 36-year-old Desmond Beasley reported the incidents to police between 2019 and 2020. After an investigation was conducted by police departments in multiple communities, Beasley was arrested by the United States Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force on September 7, 2021.
Last month, Beasley pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- Two counts of Disseminating Matter Harmful to Juveniles
- Two counts of Gross Sexual Imposition
- Two counts of Rape
- Two counts of Sexual Battery
- One count of Attempted Rape
- One count of Illegal Use of Minor in Nudity-Oriented Material or Performance
- One count of Pandering Sexually-Oriented Matter Involving a Minor
“Desmond Beasley violated his primary duty as a teacher. Instead of caring for his students, he used his position of trust to prey upon them,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley in a statement. “I hope his conviction and sentence provides some peace and justice for his victims and sends a stern message that this vile behavior will not be tolerated.”
Many of Beasley's victims, who ranged in age from 13 to 18 years old, were his former students from the dance studio he worked at, Dance Dance Dance in Parma.
In a release from O'Malley's office, the following incidents were noted:
In 2013, a female victim, 16, began receiving sexually explicit photos from Desmond Beasley, her dance instructor at the time. In August of that same year, Beasley invited the victim to his residence. After she arrived, he sexually assaulted her. The sexual assaults occurred multiple times from 2013 to 2014. He videotaped the encounters, posted them on social media, and sold them online.
In 2014, another female victim, 15, began receiving sexually explicit photos over social media from Desmond Beasley, her dance instructor at the time. Beasley sent the victim sexually explicit photos for over three years. In October 2017, Beasley then visited the victim at her college dorm in Athens, Ohio, and invited her to his hotel room for a photo shoot. While there, he provided her with alcohol. Afterward, she went to sleep. Later, she woke up to Beasley sexually assaulting her. He continued to sexually assault her despite her protests.
In 2014, another female victim, 13, began receiving sexually explicit photos from Desmond Beasley, her dance instructor at the time. Beasley sent the victim photos over the next four years. In the winter of 2014, Beasley picked the victim up and brought her to his residence where he sexually assaulted her. In the fall of 2018, Beasley asked the victim to model for a photo shoot. During the shoot, he took photos of her in various stages of undress without her consent.
In 2014, three additional female victims, ages 13, 15, and 16, were each sent unsolicited sexually explicit photos by Beasley, their dance instructor at the time.
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