LANCASTER, Pa.– A Lancaster city dance instructor was sentenced to 15 to 40 years in state prison for sexual abuse of four children, three of which were former students.
Jose Rivera-Vasquez, 41, plead guilty to numerous charges, including 13 felonies, in a deal for his prison term.
Rivera-Vasquez abused the teenage girls between 2011 and May 2015. During a 2011 rape of a 17-year-old, he threatened to assault the victim if she told anyone about the abuse.
The other victims, which were students in his dance classes, were 13, 14, and 15 when the abuse began.
Before ordering the sentence, Judge Dennis Reinaker asked Rivera-Vasquez to apologize to the victims, two of whom were present at the hearing. He obliged, turning to them and telling them he was sorry.
