'So You Think You Can Dance' choreographer charged with sexual assault [updated]
A salsa dance instructor and choreographer on the Fox television show "So You Think You Can Dance" was arrested this morning on a felony warrant charging him with sexually assaulting four women.
Alex Da Silva, 41, was arrested at his North Hollywood home by Los Angeles police.
The charges include four counts of forcible rape, two counts of assault with intent to commit rape and two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
Da Silva is being held on $6.2 million bail, she said.
The alleged assaults took place between August 2002 and March 2009 and involved four victims, Robison said. The victims were either dancers or aspiring dancers who met Da Silva at his dance classes.
Da Silva is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.
[Update, 11:45 p.m
Da Silva initially was arrested in April during a class he was teaching at the EDGE Performing Arts Center in Hollywood.
The choreographer was briefly jailed but released after the L.A. County district attorney's office declined to file charges and asked detectives to resubmit the case with additional evidence.
Los Angeles police investigators alleged that Da Silva raped four female students using various ruses to get them into his bedroom, such as wanting to show them new clothes or asking for help fixing his computer.
At the time of his original arrest, Silva's attorney Harland Braun told The Times, the case was a misunderstanding of “the difference between seduction and rape.” On Tuesday, Braun had no immediate comment on the search warrant and was critical of the bail amount.
“I always find it absurd to see a bail like $6.2 million,” Braun said. “I wonder what went through the judge’s mind when he signed such a warrant.”
Police said three of the incidents took place in North Hollywood and the most recent case took place in Van Nuys. Police investigated the case further, leading to the arrest Tuesday.]
-- Andrew Blankstein
Photo: Salsa teacher and choreographer Alex Da Silva. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times
There'll be plenty of fans looking forward to this loser being their cellmate. Good night sweet prince!
Posted by: kooo | August 18, 2009 at 09:07 AM
So You Think You Can WHAAAT?
Posted by: GG | August 18, 2009 at 09:28 AM
Again? Is this deja vu?
Posted by: Ann | August 18, 2009 at 10:10 AM
THIS IS THE SECOND TIME HE HAS BEEN ARRESTED ON THE SAME COUNTS WHAT CHANGED HIS CASE STUTUS THE DA'S NEED TO HAVE A
BIGGER CONVECTION RATE OR A DA BUCKING FOR PROMTION HE IS INNOCCENT UNTILL PROVEN GUILTY AND WHY SUCH A HIGH BAIL FOR MURDER ITS 1 MILLION SCALES OF JUSTICE DO NOT SEEM TO BALANCE RIGHT IN THIS CASE THEY SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME
Posted by: JUAN OSPINA | August 18, 2009 at 10:45 AM
kooo's comment is hilarious!
Posted by: Jane Laurel | August 18, 2009 at 11:03 AM
I just don't understand this. He's being arrested now for acts that took place from Aug. 2002 - May 2009? That's anywhere from 7 years to 5 months ago! Maybe it took the police that long to investigate things, but I wonder when the women actually complained to the police. All I know is, if a guy ever tried to assault me sexually, I'd be at the police within hours, not months. I question this only because my brother was falsely accused of rape before, by a woman who simply regretted having slept with him. The case was dropped when the truth came out, but it still put him through hell.
Posted by: Kate | August 18, 2009 at 11:20 AM
This would never happen on Dancing With The Stars.
Posted by: Ray | August 18, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Wanna be on TV? Here's how!
Tragic! Honest people honestly believe they can make it and they find this creep.
Posted by: Dick Diamond | August 18, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Who is this "Braun"? I'm going to assume it's his lawyer, but it really should be more clear...
Posted by: Chloe | August 18, 2009 at 12:38 PM
The defense lawyer is right "silly pickup lines do not create a rape case." The police are only interested if force was involved. That said, as a dance instructor, he showed poor judgement in trying to seduce his students. LA is filled with lots of attractive and available females. (I'm not vouching for their mental or emotional availability.) He needs to look outside of his dance lesson for potential dates. If it's not all ready too late.
Posted by: Fuel | August 18, 2009 at 03:54 PM
Don't want to judge Alex until the evidence comes out. That is an awfully long span of time there.. Aug 02 - Mar 09. And it is taking this long to make an arrest. I don't know. That seems strange to me. Let's not judge him until the truth is heard.
Posted by: pammy | August 21, 2009 at 04:08 AM