Fort Mill dance instructor gets up to 8 years in prison after pleading guilty to molesting male student

A dance instructor who had unsupervised access to hundreds of children during 20 years in Fort Mill was sent to prison for as long as eight years Wednesday after pleading guilty to sex acts with a male student who started at the studio at age 7.

Eddie Mabry, 52, owner of Eddie Mabry Talent and a former Winthrop University dance instructor, drank alcohol with the boy and gave money to the boy for drugs, as well as improperly touched the boy, prosecutors said.

Mabry pleaded guilty Wednesday in Charlotte to one count of second-degree sex offense in a plea deal after he was charged with 20 felonies including 10 counts of statutory rape and 10 counts of indecent liberties with a child. He could have faced life in prison if convicted at trial on all counts.

Mabry will serve 73 to 97 months, said Meghan McDonald, a spokeswoman for the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office. Mabry must register as a sex offender after his release from prison.

Monday in York, Mabry pleaded guilty under what is called an Alford plea, where he accepts punishment but does not admit guilt, to lewd act with a child and contributing to the delinquency of a child for crimes at the Leroy Springs recreation complex in Fort Mill in 2008. York County prosecutors agreed as part of the plea deal where Mabry would face prison time for crimes in both Carolinas.

The sexual assault from Wednesday’s North Carolina guilty plea occurred at Mabry’s Huntersville, N.C., home in northern Mecklenburg County.

Mabry was the sole adult accused of any crime against the child. The victim is now an adult but came forward last year to police first in North Carolina and then in Fort Mill.

This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Fort Mill dance instructor gets up to 8 years in prison after pleading guilty to molesting male student."