'So You Think You Can Dance' choreographer guilty of rape

A one-time choreographer on the Fox TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” was found guilty by a jury Friday of raping one woman and assaulting another female victim with intent to commit rape.

A downtown Los Angeles jury found Alex Da Silva, 43, guilty of raping a 22-year-old woman in August 2002 and assault with intent to commit rape involving another woman in March 2009, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Martha Carrillo. Jurors, however, were hung when it came to four other charges involving two more alleged victims of the salsa dance instructor.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy declared a mistrial on those charges. Prosecutors said they are still deciding whether to seek to retry the dancer on those four counts -- two counts each of sexual penetration by a foreign object and forcible rape.

Da Silva was charged with sexually assaulting four victims between the ages of 20 and 26. The assaults occurred between August 2002 and March 2009. The victims were either dancers or aspiring dancers who met him through his dance instruction classes.  

He is slated to appear again Nov. 8 for possible sentencing. He faces up to 14 years in prison on the charges he was convicted of Friday.

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-- Richard Winton
Twitter.com/lacrimes

Photo: Alex Da Silva. Credit: Los Angeles Police Department