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TAUNTON - A former Norton dance instructor was convicted Thursday of having sex with a 15-year-old student three years ago at the Holiday Inn where he engaged in drinking games with the girl and her friend.

But a Taunton Superior Court jury found Keith Sampson, 29, innocent of having sex with the girl at her home a month later in February 2005 before a friend's father gave her a ride to dance class.

"I am so happy after three years that this man has been found guilty of what he is," said the victim's father, who along with his wife said they trusted Sampson with their daughter and bought him gifts when they went on vacation.

"He's no different than a priest involved with an altar child," the father said, adding that the three-year ordeal has been difficult for his daughter, now 18, and the family.

The victim, her mother and Melissa McCarthy, owner of the dance studio in Norton where the victim met Sampson, wept when the jury of five women and seven men announced its verdict after five hours of deliberation. Sampson, of South Easton, had no visible reaction to the verdict as he stood next to his lawyers. He took the stand in his own defense during the three-day trial and denied the allegations.

His family appeared somber and declined to comment as they left the courthouse.

Sampson is being held in jail without bail pending sentencing Feb. 22.

A defendant such as Sampson, with little or no criminal record, could face up to five years in prison under state guidelines for a statutory rape conviction.

State law prohibits sex with persons under 16 regardless of whether the person consents to sex.

Sampson's legal problems are far from over.

He was free on bail in the Norton case when he was arrested about a week ago in Easton for allegedly raping another 15-year-old girl he met at a dance studio he owns in Johnston, R.I.

Sampson is accused of bringing that girl to his mother's Easton condominium and giving her alcohol before having sex with her. He has pleaded innocent.

In the trial just concluded, the jury heard testimony that Sampson had sex with the Norton girl in November 2004 during a dance competition in Germany and at her home a month later. But he was not charged with those alleged incidents.

In the acts for which he was charged, the jury heard testimony that Sampson had the girl and her 17-year-old friend visit him at the Taunton Holiday Inn during January 2005 to engage in drinking games. Sampson had sex with the 15-year-old girl. Her friend, who pretended to be asleep, saw the incident, according to testimony.

The girl also testified she had sex with Sampson sometime in February 2005 before the father of a friend picked her up for a dance class.

Sampson, who was a motivational speaker as well as a dance instructor and choreographer, took the stand in his own defense and denied all the allegations.

The name of the girl was mentioned in court but is not being published because The Sun Chronicle has a policy of not identifying sexual assault victims without their permission.

Jurors deliberated 3 hours before reaching a verdict in the February 2005 incident, but told the judge they were deadlocked over allegations of what occurred at the Taunton Holiday Inn.

Judge D. Lloyd MacDonald told the jury to continue deliberations, and concluded the case 1 hours later.

"We're very pleased with the jury's verdict. We appreciate the jury's work at reaching a decision," Prosecutor Cynthia Brackett said.

She declined to speculate on the reason for the jury's split decision.

Norton Detective Todd Bramwell, who investigated the case with Tom Carroll of the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, also praised the jury's verdict.

"When you send a your children to dance or any other activity, such as Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, you trust that they are not going to be harmed," Bramwell said.

"I have kids myself, and I would not want something like that to happen to them," he said. "I think the jury came back with the right verdict."

Sampson's lawyer, Robert Mann of Providence, said, "Obviously we're disappointed."

He said it was too early to comment on whether he would file an appeal.

"We just got the verdict," Mann said.