A North Las Vegas instructor treated a young dancer and sexually assaulted him for two years, wearing his dream of dancing professionally over his head, according to North Las Vegas police.
Jesse Lee Santos, who was arrested Wednesday, faces a total of 17 counts, adding sexual assault, lewd comments with a minor sexual touch between a school worker and a student, child abuse and “intentional transmission of HIV,” police said.
Police said Santos is being held at the Las Vegas detention center.
Santos is the owner and director of JLS Entertainment Inc., which is registered at a home in North Las Vegas.Police said he danced with pop stars and directed in coveted awards.
Subway police informed North Las Vegas investigators of the allegations last June, when the victim, now an adult, came forward.
The victim told detectives that Santos was their principal school dance instructor from 2015 to 2017, when the victim was between the ages of 15 and 17, according to Santos’ arrest report.
The victim said Santos treated dancers at and out of doors the unidentified top school, taking them to dance competitions out of doors the state and employing them in his company, police said.
It is not known which high school Santos employs, or if it is a component of the Clark County School District, which simply cannot be contacted without delay for comment.
During the two-year period, the victim alleges that Santos sexually assaulted him while staying at Santos’ home in North Las Vegas the night before the trip, and when they were outside Nevada, police said.has been sexually assaulted 10 to 15 times.
The harassment began with an unwanted touch and became a sexual assault, with which the victim awoke, according to the arrest report.
The victim told detectives that “Jesse told him he could blacklist him to prevent him from dancing again, ruining his dream,” the arrest report reads.”(The victim) said she didn’t need to tell her mother or anyone else.what was going on because I had invested a lot of time and cash and because it was embarrassing.
Santos, who denied the allegations, was arrested Wednesday morning after SWAT searched his home.
It is unclear whether Santos had legal representation that he could simply comment on his behalf.
Anyone with data can contact the police at 702-633-1773.North Las Vegas police detective Jorge Correa can be located at: [email protected] For anonymous, tap Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or crimetoppersofnv.com.