Philly dance teacher faces child sex assault charges

PHILADELPHIA, PA (WTXF) - A Philadelphia dance teacher faces sex assault charges involving minors stemming from incidents that span nine years.

28-year-old Tyree Dumas, who runs the popular Dollarboyz dance troupe at 54th and Market in West Philadelphia, was arrested on Thursday, August 31 for several sex offenses that involved minors. One of his recent alleged victims was just eight years old.

Police say the offenses took place in January 2008, February 2013 and June 2017.

Dumas has been charged with Indecent Assault; Sexual Assault, Corruption of a Minor; Endangering the Welfare and related offenses.

Nick Cole runs Contenders Barbershop a few doors away from Dumas' business and home address. The charges left him shaking his head.

"It really shocked me to hear something like that, because I didn't think anything like that was going on down there," says Cole. "I thought they were running a legitimate business."

Investigators from the Special Victims Unit say it was Dollarboyz headquarters that at least one victim was assaulted. SVU detectives began investigating Dumas back in August after allegations surfaced about Dumas and the 8-year-old.

No one answered the door at Dumas' residence or the facility. Police had investigated Dumas back in 2013 in connection with allegations involving a 9-year-old and an 11-year-old.

Captain Mark Burgmann of the Special Victims Unit says that, in light of these recent allegations, the District Attorney's office agreed to charge Dumas with those offenses also.

Now, police are looking for any other potential victims.

"We're always concerned with that," Captain Burgmann says. "Especially since there are a lot of children, youth involved with this Dollarboyz organization."