CLEVELAND — A Cuyahoga County jury Thursday morning found Cleveland dance teacher Terence Greene guilty of 65 out of 74 counts, including multiple counts of rape, sexual battery, kidnapping and felonious assault, for sexually assaulting eight of his former students over a 20-year period.
Greene showed no emotion as he was found guilty of 16 counts of rape, 25 counts of sexual battery, 13 counts of kidnapping, eight counts of felonious assault, one count of gross sexual imposition and two counts of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. He was found not guilty of two counts of rape and four counts of sexual battery.
His victims watched the proceedings virtually via a video conference.
Three charges — rape, sexual battery, and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles — were dropped for lack of evidence after a ninth victim dropped out of the case.
Greene was charged with the eight counts of felonious assault because prosecutors said he knew he was HIV-positive when he allegedly sexually assaulted the students, who were minors at the time. Greene was diagnosed with the virus in 2004.
The twelve jurors deliberated for over a day.
The verdict follows a week-long trial in which each of the eight men testified Greene sexually assaulted them when they were his dance students.
Greene will be sentenced on June 8 at 9 a.m. The prosecutor said Greene could be facing multiple life sentences.
History of allegations
News 5 Investigator Sarah Buduson broke the story about the sexual assault allegations against Greene in July 2020 after some of the same former students filed a civil lawsuit against Greene.
RELATED: Cleveland dance teacher accused of sexually abusing students at Cleveland School of the Arts
The former students also filed a claim against the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, alleging the district turned a blind eye to Greene's behavior for years.
CMSD settled the lawsuit in 2021 for $3.25 million.
Greene resigned from his job at the Cleveland School of the Arts over sexual misconduct accusations in 2014.
Despite warnings, Cuyahoga Community College hired Greene to teach dance in 2015.
In 2019, one of Greene's students at Tri-C filed a report with Garfield Heights Police, alleging Greene sexually assaulted him at his home. The student's report launched the criminal investigations that led to the current 72-count indictment against Greene.
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