Cheerleading child sex abuse allegations expand from SC to a NC gym with new lawsuit

Another lawsuit has been filed alleging sexual abuse by owners of a cheerleading gym, this one in North Carolina.

The Strom Law Firm also has cases pending against other gyms in South Carolina and Tennessee.

The North Carolina lawsuit names Cheer Extreme of Raleigh and alleges a teenage boy was sexually abused by coaches and a choreographer.

As in the cases in other states, the lawsuit also names as defendants organizations that oversee the sport and stage competitions including Varsity Brands, Varsity Spirit, Varsity Brands Holding Company, U.S. All Star Federation.

“At this point, we are seeing a pattern,” said Bakari Sellers, who is representing the teen named as John Doe 1. “These entities have every chance to protect their athletes from sexual predators but, until a family goes public and the information can no longer be shuffled to the side or into a file somewhere, they do nothing. It turns my stomach every time.”

The lawsuit alleges John Doe 1 told coaches at Cheer Extreme Raleigh that he was being abused but nothing was done and law enforcement was not notified.

Cheer Extreme, in business since 1992, is owned by Kelly and Randall Helton, who are named as defendants in the lawsuit, as are coaches Chase Burris and Shawn Wilson.

The lawsuit states they did not protect athletes from emotional, physical and sexual exploitation and abuse by adult coaches, choreographers, videographers and vendors.

The lawsuit alleges that the athlete was 15 or 16 when a coach began a sexual relationship with him.

“On regular occasions, Plaintiff John Doe 1 would hang around socially with the older coach and the other coaches, owners, and administrators from Cheer Extreme, including Defendants Kelly Helton, and Defendants Burris and Wilson, where the coach would caress Plaintiff John Doe 1, hug him and touch him in front of the other Cheer Extreme adults,” the lawsuit states.

The coach also pressured the teen to use cocaine, the lawsuit alleges. Around the same time, a coach from Cheer Extreme Kernersville sent nude photos via snapchat to the teen, who in turn reported it to another coach. He told the teen to let him know if it happened again.

Later, at a competition the Kernersville coach pressured the teen to perform oral sex on him.

The lawsuit also details attempts by other coaches and a choreographer to have sex with the teen, who did not comply.

Several lawsuits are pending in federal court in Greenville County against Rockstar Cheer, which is also under a federal criminal investigation. Rockstar owner Scott Foster shot himself to death on Aug. 22, knowing an investigation into his acts with children was underway, the lawsuits say.

The gym is now closed.

The lawsuits allege that the gym and various Varsity Brand affiliated companies formed a vast conspiracy that put profits over safety and disregarded complaints that coaches and other adults were abusing the young athletes.

All of the lawsuits describe a world of children abusing drugs and alcohol given to them by coaches and other adults during out-of-state competitions and in an apartment known as Rockstar House in Greenville.

The Tennessee lawsuit alleged two teenage boys were sexually abused by their coach at Premiere Athletics in Knoxville.

“At the end of the day, we are talking about people charged with protecting children. We must ask what these entities did to protect these children, and how this type of abuse can occur if the system is designed for protection,” Jessica Fickling, a lawyer for the Strom Firm said in a news release.