Crime & Safety
Victim of Alleged Danscapes Sex Assault Acquires Lawyer
A September trial date is set Tuesday in Superior Court for case against former dance instructor.
A teenage victim of an by a 43-year-old Farmington dance teacher recently acquired a West Hartford attorney, and the case moved toward a trial Tuesday in Hartford Superior Court.
F. Thomas Pachler filed a court document June 14 in Superior Court to represent the 17-year-old victim while the prosecution proceeds against dance teacher Jeffrey Sepa of Bristol.
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Also in court Tuesday, a jury trial date was set for Sept. 22. Sepa, now 44, has had five court sessions, including three pre-trial hearings.
Sepa, of 142 Oakland St. in Bristol, to two charges of second-degree felony sexual assault April 18. He turned himself in to March 2.
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Sepa was a co-owner and instructor at at 24 Spring Lane in Farmington at the time of the alleged sexual encounters, police said. He was charged under a law that forbids coaches or instructors to engage in sexual intercourse with students under 18.
Sepa at Danscapes in March, said his wife and business partner in a letter to parents of students.
Farmington police requested an interview with the victim Feb. 8 after receiving information from unidentified sources about an alleged sexual relationship with Sepa, according to an arrest warrant.
A longtime friend of the victim gave a statement to police also indicating the relationship was sexual. The warrant states an August to January timeframe for the alleged sexual relationship.
In an interview with police, with her mother present, the victim said, “I don’t want his life ruined,” according to the warrant.
“All of her statements sounded sincere and confirmed her conflicted emotions,” Farmington officer Susan L. DiVenere said in the warrant.
The teenager was one of Sepa’s students for about 11 years, she told police, and regarded the dance teacher as a best friend and father figure. DiVenere said the victim was vague about details of the relationship but acknowledged having intercourse with Sepa once.
Sepa, who is represented by attorney Walter R. Hampton of Canton, has not talked to police.
