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John Conner III, a well-known dancer and former instructor on Lifetime’s popular series Bring It, was sentenced in Tennessee to nine months in prison and four years of probation on Friday after he was found guilty of having unprotected sex with an underage dance student, exposing the teen to HIV.
In November Conner pleaded guilty to charges of criminal exposure to HIV, statutory rape by an authority figure, and solicitation of a minor, according to WREG.
As a requirement of the case Conner will have to remain on the Sex Offender Registry for life.
Conner was 26-years-old at the time of the incident, and the teen was 16-years-old. The two reportedly met online and agreed to meet one another where they partook in unprotected sex in Conner’s car. Conner was diagnosed with HIV in 2012, but failed to disclose that information to the student at the time of their sexual relationship.
The teen who housed aspirations to become a dancer later joined Conner’s team, the Infamous Dancerettes, where they continued exchanging sexual text messages and nude photos.
Conner got national attention during the first season of the Lifetime reality TV show, Bring It, following the dance leadership of Coach Dianna “Miss D” Williams and her Dollhouse Dance team in Jackson, Mississippi. Conner appeared on the first season of the show as a coach of the Dynamic Diamond Dollz. In season two he returned as the coach of the Infamous Dancerettes.
However a year after their relationship began, the teen learned that Conner was HIV positive and informed his parents who encouraged him to get tested. The test came back positive.
Conner awaits two similar cases, reports WREG — one involving a 17-year-old sexual partner and the other based on allegations from a 24-year-old victim.
