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'So You Think You Can Dance' Choreographer Convicted Of Rape, Assault

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Alex Da Silva, a well-known salsa dance instructor and a former choreographer for "So You Think You Can Dance," was convicted Friday of raping one woman and assaulting another.

The Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Da Silva, 43, guilty of raping a 22-year-old woman in August 2002.

The jury -- eight men and four women -- also convicted the dance teacher of intent to commit rape in 2009 on a 25-year-old woman. They acquitted him in that incident of forcible rape.

Jurors (who deliberated on all counts for four days) deadlocked on four counts, including the alleged rapes of two other women.

After the verdict was read, Da Silva's attorney, Patrick S. Smith, was quoted as saying, "I'm extremely disappointed, but this is the system."

Da Silva will be back in court November 8 when the DA's office will announce if they want to re-try him on the counts the jurors deadlocked on.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

 

 

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