A former Mount Pleasant dancer instructor will spend three years behind bars for child pornography.
In April of last year, Oak Creek detectives searched Gilbert Mata's home and found an iPad with child pornographic material.
Meta pleaded guilty in the case. He will have two years of extended supervision after his initial confinement.
Parents left in the dark: Former Mount Pleasant dance teacher arrested on child porn charges
Sept. 12, 2023 | Jenna Rae
A Mount Pleasant dance teacher is facing child pornography charges. 37-year-old Gilbert Mata was arrested in April 2023. Parents whose kids attended the studio where Mata worked said they're just now finding out.
"Initially I felt sad. I'm sad there are people like this that take the most vulnerable populations and exploit them," Gracie Schmelter said.
Schmelter is one of several parents TMJ4 spoke to Tuesday, whose children attended Dance Arts Center (DAC) in Mount Pleasant.
"I found out from a friend of mine. She called me yesterday morning and my daughter was supposed to start dance class yesterday evening," Schmelter said.
Parents said they found out this week that Mata, a former employee at DAC, was charged with child pornography last year.
Comments online said, "It is very wrong not to disclose this to the parents" and "My daughter attended DAC last school year and I wasn't notified either. I am really disgusted that all parents were not notified of this situation."
A criminal complaint said Oak Creek police officers found pornographic images of children under the age of 12 on Mata's iPad earlier this year. In an interview on April 5, detectives claim Mata told them he's a dance teacher and works with kids. He also admitted he views child pornography approximately once a month.
"I think it's very different from just saying, 'Oh, he had a problem in the past,' to this is solid, what is on his own computer," Schmelter added.
We tried to call Mata Tuesday, but it went to voicemail. We also tried calling his partner, who's still currently employed at DAC, but he didn't answer either.
When we went to DAC, a woman who answered the door identified herself as the studio's owner, but wouldn't give her name.
In a conversation with TMJ4's Jenna Rae, she said, "As soon as we found out that charges were filed against him, we terminated him, and nothing happened here at the studio. No students were involved. We did tell parents that he taught. It was a personal issue, not really a Dance Arts Center issue."
The answer from the studio, parents said, doesn't sit well with them.
"I'm really sad that this is even a thing in our day in age that people would put children at risk," Schmelter said.
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