AUSTIN-AMERICAN STATESMAN
Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011
By Steven Kreytak, American-Statesman staff
COURTS
Instructor cleared of 1 count
A Travis County jury on Wednesday acquitted Austin hip-hop instructor Stacey Aldridge of one count of sexual assault, but Aldridge remains in jail on three additional sexual assault charges.
The not-guilty verdict came after a trial this week in state District Judge Mike Lynch’s court. One of Aldridge’s former students testified that he sexually assaulted her at his Northwest Austin apartment after a night out in 2006, defense lawyer David Frank said. The woman was 22 at the time.
Aldridge, 43, was an instructor at the Dance Zone, a school near the University of Texas. He has also been an instructor for UT’s informal classes.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Pryor said prosecutors plan to try Aldridge in the three remaining cases. Those charges stem from allegations that Aldridge assaulted one woman at the dance studio where he worked and assaulted two 17-year-old girls at a club after buying them drinks, according to court documents.