Uptown Dance Teacher Pleads Guilty To Groping Boy, Report Says

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A Broadway dancer and choreographer pleaded guilty this week to molesting a student in his Washington Heights home, according to reports.

David Marquez, 54, will likely avoid jail time but will have to register as a sex offender after pleading guilty to groping a teenage student in 2017, the New York Daily News first reported. Marquez was facing charges of forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree sex abuse after being arrested earlier this year.

Marquez invited a 16-year-old dance student to his Washington Heights apartment in 2017. The teacher then allegedly blew marijuana smoke in the boy's mouth before rubbing and placing his mouth on the boy's genitals over his underwear, according to a criminal complaint.

The victim reported the abuse to law enforcement and told them that none of the actions were consensual, according to the criminal complaint.

Marquez danced in the original production of Kander and Ebb's "Kiss of the Spider Woman" on Broadway and turned the gig into a vehicle to launch a career as a choreographer and dance teacher, according to his teacher biography page on the Broadway Dance Center website. Marquez hasn't taught at the center since 2017, New York 1 reported.

The dace instructor has taught students in foreign countries such as Argentina, Italy, Mexico and the United Kingdom, according to his biography page. Marquez's work as a choreographer has resulted in jobs at different productions around the United States and even on television programs such as the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show."

Marquez will appear in court on Oct. 10 for his sentencing, according to court records.