Dance teacher sentenced to 9 months for exposing teen to HIV

Published 8:40 am Tuesday, March 3, 2020

MEMPHIS (AP) — A Tennessee dance teacher who appeared on a reality TV show was sentenced Friday to nine months in prison for raping a teenage student and exposing him to HIV.

John Conner III, 30, also was sentenced to four years of probation and he’ll be placed on the sex offender registry for life, news outlets reported.

Connor pleaded guilty in November to criminal exposure to HIV, statutory rape by an authority figure and solicitation of a minor.

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Investigators said Connor met a 16-year-old boy online in 2015 and the pair had unprotected sex several times. Connor didn’t tell the boy he was diagnosed with HIV in 2012, according to authorities. The boy later tested positive for HIV.

Conner had appeared on the Lifetime show “Bring It.” The show featured Mid-South competitive dance teams, including Connor’s.