Disgraced Royal Ballet star jailed for second time after sexually abusing child dance pupil
A former principal dancer at the Royal Ballet who sexually abused his child dance pupils has been jailed for a second time.
Disgraced ex-dancer Stephen Beagley, 65, who previously performed with Freddie Mercury and Wayne Sleep, was jailed for 10 years in 2019 after a court was told about harrowing details of his years of abuse.
Beagley has now had another five years added to his sentence after a fourth victim came forward after reading about his other crimes in the press.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court she had to face the fact she had been groomed by a paedophile after believing she was in a relationship with Beagley.
Lewes Crown Court heard how he groomed the victim in a gross abuse of trust, first taking an interest in her when she was nine.
They began texting when she was struggling to cope with the sudden death of a friend in 2010, with the sexual abuse beginning almost immediately.
Sophie Shotton, the prosecutor, explained how Beagley had bought the girl and her mother tickets to see Swan Lake. She said he sexually abused her in the car on the way home while he chatted to her mum, who was completely unaware of what was happening in the back seat.
The girl believed they were in a relationship and they would text each other up to 50 times a day.
Beagley sexually abused her until he moved to Thailand, although they remained in touch.
When the victim was 18, she visited him there and found it “weird” that he did not want to have sex with her now she was an adult.
Sussex Police contacted the young woman in 2017 as part of the investigation that led to Beagley being jailed for 10 years in 2019.
She changed her mind and decided to support a new prosecution after reading press reports.
Beagley started dancing aged eight and rose to become principal dancer with the Royal Ballet for 14 years. He performed at the Silver Jubilee Gala in 1977.
As well as lead roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Romeo and Juliet, he had a starring role in the West End musical Cats. He went on to become an influential and well-respected dance instructor and choreographer who taught around the world.
The dancer, from Gravesend, in Kent, had a position as a dance teacher at a preparatory school and offered private tuition to young girl dancers outside school.
After gaining their trust he would visit their homes, where much of the abuse took place.
He also taught at the Boston Ballet, Scottish Ballet, and Hong Kong Ballet, and worked with ballet students in New Zealand, Shanghai, America, and Italy. He most recently worked with the Bangkok City Ballet as artistic director.
