SC dance program reinstated after sex accusations

The suspension placed on the Eddie Mabry Talent dance program at the Leroy Springs recreation complex has been lifted, the facility’s chief executive officer said Tuesday.

It’s unclear, however, if or when the program, will resume.

The dance program, which rents space at the complex, was suspended Friday by Leroy Springs & Co. after its principal instructor, Eddie Mabry, was arrested by North Carolina authorities and charged with statutory rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

A former student told police he was a minor at the time of the alleged crimes. Mabry, 51, of Huntersville, N.C., also has been accused of inappropriately touching the boy over a five-year period at the Leroy Springs complex, Fort Mill police said Monday.

The former student filed a report Friday afternoon with the Fort Mill Police Department, said police spokesman Maj. Bryan Zachary.

Tim Patterson, president and CEO of Leroy Springs & Co., which owns the complex, said the program can resume, but Mabry is barred from the property. Even as the suspension began, the dance program was going on hiatus as it always does when spring break begins, Patterson said.

“We have decided to lift the suspension of the Eddie Mabry Talent Program,” Patterson wrote in an email to parents Tuesday. “However, pending resolution of the charges against him, Mr. Mabry will not be allowed at the Recreation Complex.

“We have not as yet been able to discuss this matter with Eddie Mabry Talent but believe their team of experienced instructors can complete their spring program.”

Patterson’s email offered refunds to parents who “choose to reconsider participation” in the dance program.Even though the complex doesn’t run the program, he said, it does collect the participation fees and passes the money, minus the amount deducted for rent, to Mabry.

Also Tuesday, Jena Burgin-Peters, an instructor with Eddie Mabry Dance, sent an email to parents with children in the program asking if she would have their support if she were to take over for Mabry.

“As many of you may know,” she wrote, “I have every intention of stepping in and taking over the current dance program. I cannot speak as to what the complex will decide about housing the program. However, I am currently working diligently on accessing and securing a space for our lessons to continue.

“Our teachers are ready for the task at hand and will support the children and the program.”

Burgin-Peters’ email set April 13 as a “tentative return to class date.”

Efforts to reach Burgin-Peters for comment were unsuccessful Tuesday.

Patterson said he’s not aware of another instructor ready to step in for Mabry, whose program has operated for two decades in Fort Mill, and that it’s not his role to be involved other than as a “landlord” who rents space in his facility.

“This is Eddie Mabry’s program, his organization and he needs to decide how things are going to proceed,” he said.

Patterson did say he recognized Burgin-Peters’ name as one of the Eddie Mabry Talent instructors and as one of several people he heard mentioned as someone who might take over the program. He said he’s confident dance students will have something to return to after spring break.

“There have been times over the years when Eddie Mabry goes out of town, but the program continues,” Patterson said. “He has capable assistants and instructors who have carried on before in his absence, and I don’t see why this would be any different.”

He asked parents and residents upset by Mabry’s arrest not to rush to judgment.

“I hope everyone can remember that we’re all presumed innocent until proven otherwise and to let the judicial system (work),” Patterson said.

Mabry, who was released on $15,000 bond Friday from the Mecklenburg County, N.C., jail, has not been charged with a crime in Fort Mill, said Zachary, the police spokesman. Fort Mill detectives are continuing their investigation.

Mabry’s attorney, George Laughrun of Charlotte, said Monday that Mabry “adamantly denies” the North Carolina charges. Laughrun is not licensed to practice in South Carolina and couldn’t address the allegations filed with Fort Mill police, he said.

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/crime/article17060714.html#storylink=cpy

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 9:04 AM with the headline "SC dance program reinstated after sex accusations."