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Dance Teacher Accused of Sexually Abusing Multiple Students at Cleveland School of the Arts

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Dance Teacher Accused of Sexually Abusing Multiple Students at Cleveland School of the Arts Image

Terence M. Greene, a former dance teacher at the Cleveland School of the Arts, has been accused by at least five male students of sexual abuse, News 5 Cleveland reports.

The lawsuit filed against Greene also alleges officials at CSA and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District ignored Greene's behavior for years.

Nehemiah Spencer, one of the former students who accused Greene, alleged that Greene invited him to his house to work on musical selections for an upcoming show. Spencer said that Greene invited him to his basement, where he started to ask him sexual questions.

Spencer said that Greene put on a film about older gay men teaching younger men about gay culture, and that's when he began touching his legs and upper thighs.

"After that, I was trying to brainwash the situation, trying to make it seem like it didn't happen," Spencer said. "I was trying to hope that that was the end of it. But... doesn't mean that was the end of what he was capable of with other people."

Spencer is one of five former students who has come forward with their story.

"All of these students tell a very similar story," said Ryan Fisher, the attorney representing the students. "His (Greene's) conduct has been consistent, it has been premeditated and it has been vicious."

Greene worked as a dance teacher at CSA between 1998 and 2014. During that time, he was charged with four counts of unlawful sex with a minor after a student reported Greene repeatedly sexually abused him. He was acquitted in July 2004 and went back to work at CSA.

In 2014, Greene resigned after "allegations of improper conduct surfaced."

Read more on News 5 Cleveland.

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