California Cheerleading Coach Convicted of Sexual Abuse
A California cheerleading coach, Eric Joseph Christianson, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting at least 10 nine-year-old girls and now faces the possibility of a 165-year prison sentence.
Christianson, who coached at the Magic All Stars club and was an assistant at Trabuco Hills High School, was convicted on Tuesday for offenses committed while he was a competitive cheer coach and camp counselor in the early 2000s in Orange County.
This man, who sports dreadlocks, was initially arrested while on duty in Florida. He targeted young girls at competitions and often abused them in their own homes.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer remarked, “For decades, Eric Christianson exploited cheerleading gyms across Orange County and beyond as a twisted selection process for his victims.” He further stated that Christianson relied on his position as a trusted coach, making it easier to conceal his abuse. The reality is that pedophiles continue their harming behavior until law enforcement intervenes.
The gravity of Christianson’s actions first surfaced in 2022 when he was taken into custody in Daytona Beach, Florida, on suspicion of having sexually abused a 13-year-old girl and inappropriate behavior during a FaceTime call with three young males.
At the time of his arrest, one of his previous victims from Orange County revealed to law enforcement that she was also abused by him when she was just 14.
This victim accused him of regularly meeting her for lunch at school, taking her to his home and the beach, where he then sexually assaulted her, as prosecutors detailed.
As the investigation unfolded, it revealed that he had also abused seven other girls, aged 9 to 16, whom he coached between 2002 and 2006. Two more victims were connected to Christianson through family ties when he was a camp counselor at the South Orange County YMCA.
Some victims admitted they felt too ashamed to come forward at the time the abuse occurred. Christianson was initially arrested in Kansas on a warrant in 2022 and was later extradited to Florida. He posted a $300,000 bail but was released without restrictions after departing the state. The following year, he was re-arrested in Fargo, North Dakota, due to a felony warrant related to the Orange County case.
Subsequently, he was convicted on multiple counts, including felony lewd or lascivious conduct with minors, as well as felony sexual penetration of minors under specific age thresholds. When he is sentenced in March, he could face up to 165 years to life in prison.
