LANCASTER TWP - A dance studio owner admitted she was stunned to learn that one of her instructors is accused of fondling six of her young students.

"We loved him dearly," said Devyn Bianco, who owns and operates the Dance With Me By Devyn studio. "We trusted him."

Ralph Montgomery, 57, of 190 Sheridan Drive, Pittsburgh, who taught ballet at the Route 19 dance school for three years, faces a preliminary hearing in November on a list of criminal charges.

District Justice Wayne Seibel on Monday arraigned Montgomery on 23 counts of indecent assault and 11 counts each of corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.

A hearing on the charges is scheduled Nov. 10.

Lancaster Township police last week filed charges following a four-month investigation that began when a 15-year-old girl accused the defendant of inappropriately touching her in the studio.

The girl said Montgomery, during one dance practice, "touched and grabbed her buttocks, then moved his hands to her stomach and proceeded to move his hands up her chest, touching her breast," according to court documents.

Five other girls, ages 10 to 14, came forward later and made similar allegations against Montgomery, police said.

Montgomery, who could not be reached for comment, was hired in 2001 and taught ballet to 45 students between the ages of 6 and 18, all members of the studio's competitive team, Bianco said.

"I spoke with teachers at a number of other area studios and he came very heavily recommended," she said.

The defendant has taught dance for years at several studios in Butler and Allegheny counties, said Lancaster Township police Chief Bob Martin.

Bianco said she fired Montgomery immediately after the allegations surfaced in May. She said prior to that, none of her students had complained about the defendant's behavior at the studio.

Martin said the girls have accused Montgomery of fondling them between fall of 2002 and last May, as he instructed them in dance techniques.

Bianco said teachers at her studio are instructed to avoid incidental touching of students' breasts and buttocks.

"The teachers are told that their hands are to be seen at all times and they're only to touch the girls' shoulders and back while giving them instruction," she said.

Bianco, who has operated her studio since 1997, said Montgomery was a talented dancer and well liked by students and parents.

"The girls on the competitive team and their parents and everyone at the studio are very much family," she said. "We hold Christmas parties and picnics and (Montgomery) was always there.

"All the parents always enjoyed him and he was very professional in class. The allegations are still really shocking."