Former Encinitas Dance Instructor Charged With Felony Sex Assaults

ENCINITAS, CA — The former owner of an Encinitas dance studio is under arrest on charges of sexually assaulting former students, the San Diego County Sheriff said Wednesday.

David Silvas, 39, has been charged with assault with intent to commit rape, sexual assault of a child under 14 years, and other felony sexual abuse charges. On Thursday, Silvas pleaded not guilty to nine felony counts.

In July 2020, a 30-year-old woman alleged to the North Coastal Sheriff’s Station that her dance instructor had molested from the time she was 12 until she was 17 at the now-closed Callahan Institute of the Arts.

The Sheriff’s Child Abuse Unit said it uncovered three more victims during the course of its investigation. Investigators found that the girls were assaulted at dance studios, dance competitions and house parties throughout San Diego from 2005 to 2014.

Sheriff’s Child Abuse Detectives believe there may be more victims and witnesses.

Silvas was arrested in his Vista home Tuesday and is being held on $100,000 bail at the Vista Detention Facility. He faces a maximum of 15 years in state prison if convicted, Deputy District Attorney Peter Estes told City News Service.

Anyone with information can call the Sheriff’s Child Abuse Unit at 858-285-6293, or call the anonymous Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 888-580-8477.