A male dance instructor from North Monmouth who has taught in communities across central Maine has been arrested on a charge of sexually abusing a teenage girl who was one of his students, according to police.
Police said the man, 31-year-old Ryan Morrill, taught the girl in Newcastle, but he also has worked at studios in Augusta, Winthrop, Lewiston, Auburn and Thomaston, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Friday afternoon.
The girl was 14 or 15 years old at the time of the alleged sexual abuse, which lasted about 10 months, said Lt. Michael Murphy in a news release. Authorities first learned of the accusations against Morrill on Wednesday.
Morrill has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor, a class C felony punishable by up to 5 years in jail. He was taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset and his bail was set at $1,000 cash.
“It is possible there are other victims involved in this case,” Murphy said in the news release. “This investigation in on-going and further charges are expected.”
Murphy encouraged anyone with information about Morrill to contact either Detective Sgt. Ronald Rollins at 882-7332 or a local police department.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less