- Marc Edgar Alexander Cameron faces charges accusing him of sexually abusing young dance students.
- Prosecutors allege that Cameron fled the UK after similar allegations, continuing behavior in the U.S.
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — An Eagle Mountain man who owned a dance studio in Cottonwood Heights was charged Wednesday with sexually abusing young clients.
Marc Edgar Alexander Cameron, 46, "used his position of trust as a dance instructor to prey upon his students and touch them inappropriately. He focused on young girls who did not understand what he was doing to them," according to charging documents.
Cameron is charged in 3rd District Court with four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, and is accused of abusing multiple girls since 2019.
The investigation began in February when a girl told police about her alleged abuse.
One girl says she joined Cameron's dance studio when she was 5, "and approximately one year after joining, her dance instructor, Cameron, began 'acting weird,'" charging documents state.
The girl says Cameron would take her into his office and inappropriately touch her. She told investigators that "this happened 'a ton of times,' and that Cameron would do this to her a lot after class," according to the charges.
"(She) said things with Cameron happened a lot when she was between 7 and 8 years old and thought it was 'sickening' as he 'kept touching her in the same place,'" the charges allege.
Another girl says when she was between 5 and 11 years old, "Cameron installed cameras in the studio and changing room, and recalled hiding behind chairs to change for ballet and cover herself from the cameras. (She) said she recalled one time she was scared to get out of her car for dance and Cameron came outside to get her," and then took her into his office where he inappropriately touched her, according to the charging documents.
Police questioned Cameron after taking him into custody. "Cameron admitted he would meet with girls, individually, in his office and have them sit on his lap, however, denied touching them inappropriately. Cameron also said he was 'affectionate' toward the kids," the charges say.
Prosecutors noted in the court documents that Cameron was also investigated in the United Kingdom for having "an inappropriate relationship with a teenager whom he taught as her dancing instructor and when he was being investigated, he fled to the United States, where he continued his predatory behavior."
