Former Fort Mill dance instructor in court today on sex charges

Eddie Mabry, the former Fort Mill dance instructor who taught York County children for two decades before he was arrested for allegedly touching a former male student, is scheduled for court in York Monday on sex-related charges.

A former student and former employee accused Mabry of making improper advances toward him when he was as young as 7 in North Carolina, and later at the Leroy Springs Recreation Complex in Fort Mill.

Mabry, 52, faces six charges in York County from the Fort Mill allegations and 20 charges in Mecklenburg County, N.C., court records show. He was first arrested in Huntersville, N.C., released on bond, then arrested in Fort Mill and again freed on bond.

Mabry has no prior criminal record.

The student/employee made the claims in March, first in Huntersville, where Mabry lives, and then in Fort Mill, where his company, Eddie Mabry Talent, operated dance classes at the Leroy Springs center. The alleged victim, now an adult, was a juvenile when Mabry is alleged to have had illegal contact with him.

Mabry faces arraignment Wednesday afternoon in Mecklenburg County court, said Meghan Cooke, spokeswoman for Mecklenburg prosecutors. He is scheduled for court in York this afternoon on the Fort Mill charges, according to prosecutors and York’s public court docket.

After Mabry was arrested, Leroy Springs barred him from its property but allowed the studio, whose employees were not charged in connection with the allegations, to finish the dance year that ended in the summer. Mabry and his company now have no connection with the Fort Mill complex, said Tim Patterson, president and CEO of Leroy Springs & Co.

The Fort Mill charges allege contact starting in 2007 when the alleged victim was 14. Fort Mill police charged Mabry with three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and three counts of lewd act on a minor.

Mabry has never commented publicly about the accusations, but his North Carolina lawyer denied the charges when Mabry was arrested. Mabry also was a dance instructor at Winthrop University during the 2000s.

Check back for updates.

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Former Fort Mill dance instructor in court today on sex charges."