Owner of Clawson dance studio accused of sexually assaulting young male student

Christopher Keen facing serious charges

CLAWSON, Mich. – The owner of a Metro Detroit dance studio is accused of sexually abusing at least one teenage boy who was one of his students, according to authorities.

Christopher Keen, 59, who owns the Kaleidoscope Studio for Performing Arts in Clawson, now faces serious charges.

"Count one is a penetration count," Clawson police Chief Scott Sarvello said. "Count two is a sexual contact count, so there's touching and penetration."

Sarvello said one victim made the tough choice to come forward, but detectives are also speaking with two other male victims. The other two victims haven't filed charges due to trauma, police said.

"This was a mentor to them," Sarvello said. "This is someone that they trusted, someone that had authority over them."

All three victims were allegedly sexually abused by Keen at the studio and at Keen's house. Police said the victim who came forward was between 13 and 16 years old when he was abused in 2013 and 2014.

"This is awful," Sarvello said. "We have young boys that are going through maturity levels at ages of 13, 14 and 15 -- someone that they trusted."

Keen's wife and daughter also helped run the studio, but police said they're not involved in any way.

"I don't believe the wife and daughter were aware of what was going on or what these allegations are against him," Sarvello said.

Keen was officially charged Thursday and released from jail after posting bond as the investigation continues.

Investigators believe there are more victims who have not come forward.

The Clawson Police Department released the following statement:

"This is an ongoing investigation. Our department is aware of two other possible victims, and our detectives continue to work on that information. We feel there are other victims out there who have not told anybody due to the fact that this suspect used his authoritative position to take advantage of students, advising them not to tell anybody because his life would be over and telling them he loved them. We are notifying the public for safety reasons and would ask if anybody has additional information about this studio, or if there are other victims, to please come forward and call Det. Sgt. Kellie Bauss at 248-655-4450."


About the Authors:

Koco joined the Local 4 News team in September of 2016. She was born and raised in Metro Detroit, attended Central Michigan University, and previously worked at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.