Cheerleading abuse accusations increase to 20 with Ohio case

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The latest lawsuit in a series alleging widespread sexual misconduct across competitive cheerleading alleges that officials allowed two choreographers to continue working after they were investigated for sexual abuse.

Snowballing accounts of cheerleaders' alleged abuse have led to increased scrutiny around the sport since the founder of an elite South Carolina cheerleading gym reportedly killed himself in late August amid an investigation into abuse. The latest lawsuit brings the number of accusers to 20.

The lawsuits paint a sordid picture of a sporting scene in which coaches use their power to share drugs and initiate sex with underage athletes while a network of institutions provides weak or nonexistent oversight.

A federal complaint filed Monday in Ohio expanded the scope of the burgeoning scandal beyond the Southeast. Together, the unidentified plaintiffs across six states — all represented by the South Carolina-based Strom Law Firm — accuse the sport's governing bodies and leading competitive institutions of failing to protect underage athletes from the detailed abuse.

In the latest case, two men who were contracted to provide training at an Ohio gym invited a 17-year-old male cheerleader to their hotel room after midnight in late July 2016, the lawsuit alleges. It says the cheerleader refused their invitations to drink alcohol, and that the men, then 24 and 25, had sex multiple times with the teen despite his attempts to leave. The gym called a meeting with the boy to discuss any potential inappropriate conduct but took no action, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiff says he sent details of the encounter in an anonymous email to two gyms in California and North Carolina in June 2020. After a U.S. All Star Federation case manager touched base, the plaintiff made a formal report and...