CLEVELAND — The fate of a Cleveland dance teacher accused of sexually assaulting eight former students will soon be in the hands of the jury.
Closing arguments in the trial of Terence Greene, 57, are expected to begin in the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas Tuesday morning.
Greene was indicted on 72 felony charges, including rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, kidnapping, and showing pornographic material to minors in 2020.
Greene is also charged with eight counts of felonious assault. He is accused of sexually assaulting the eight teenage boys when he knew he was HIV-positive. Greene was diagnosed with HIV in 2004, according to court records.
Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Steven Szelagiewicz said Greene sexually assaulted his former students between August 1998 and October 2019 when they were minors and he was their dance teacher at the Cleveland School of the Arts and Tri-C's Creative Arts Academy.
During opening statements, Szelagiewicz said, "You're going to hear that he assaulted these students in (a) locker room, at the school, his homes, and on school trips."
RELATED: Opening statements begin in trial of Cleveland dance teacher accused of sexual assault
You can watch more about what happened during opening statements in the player below:
Greene's defense attorney, W. Scott Ramsey, questioned why his former students waited years to come forward with their sexual assault claims.
During opening statements, Ramsey told the jury, "The big elephant in the room is why now?"
Ramsey also said there is no DNA or other medical evidence to support the men's claims.
RELATED: Dance teacher accused of sexually abusing several male students at Cleveland School of the Arts
News 5 Investigator Sarah Buduson broke the story about the allegations against Greene in July 2020 when some of the same former students filed a civil lawsuit against Greene and the Cleveland
Metropolitan School District. The former students alleged 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 abuse allegations in 2014.
Despite those allegations, Cuyahoga Community College hired Greene to teach dance to children in 2015.
In 2019, one of his students at Tri-C filed a police report with Garfield Heights Police. In the report, the student alleged Greene sexually abused him at his home. The student's account sparked a criminal investigation and led to the current felony charges against him.
If convicted, Greene could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
