Alleged victims in California began to come forward after the defendant was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of masturbating on camera to three children between the ages of 11 and 13 and touching the private parts of another 13-year-old girl in Florida.
A repeat child sexual abuse offender is looking at the possibility of life in prison after he was found guilty by a jury on 23 separate felony counts in relation to his alleged molestation of 10 girls as young as nine years old.
The alleged offenses occurred while Erick Joseph Kristianson, 46, of Antioch, Tennessee worked in Orange County, California as a competitive cheerleading coach at Magic All-Stars from 2002 to 2005 and at Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo from 2004 to 2006, as well as a YMCA sleepaway camp counselor from 1999 to 2000.
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His arrest came in 2023 after an arrest the year prior on similar charges inspired alleged victims to begin coming forward, according to a press release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Last Monday, Kristianson was convicted on 11 felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts upon a minor under age 14 years of age, four felony counts of lewd or lascivious acts upon a child age 14 or 15, six felony counts of sexual penetration by foreign object of a minor under 18, and two felony counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object of a minor under 16.
The allegations dating to the turn of the century came to light after Kristianson’s 2022 arrest in Kansas related to charges in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was accused of masturbating on camera to three children between the ages of 11 and 13 years old, and touching the private parts of a different 13-year-old girl, per the DA’s statement.
All of these alleged victims were part of the Champion Elite Legacy cheerleading gym in South Daytona Beach club, where Kristianson was working, according to the Los Angeles Times and CBS News. Both cheer facilities Kristianson worked at are now closed, notes the Times and USA Today.
After media reports of his arrest began to circulate, a woman contacted authorities in Orange County, California to report that she was allegedly molested by Kristianson when he was her cheer coach.
She said that the alleged abuse began when she was 14 years old, claiming Kristianson would meet up with her during her lunch at school to take her to the beach and his home to engage in “sexual activity.” The woman claimed this carried on through the age of 15.
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The woman’s claims launched an investigation that led to allegations Kristianson had molested seven additional girls between the years of 2002 and 2006 while he was working as a cheer coach with two different organizations.
The DA’s report alleges Kristianson would “routinely” take them to “non-cheer-sanctioned events and to his home where he would molest them.” Two of the girls said they left the sport because of the alleged repeated abuse, but did not report it at the time due to “fear and embarrassment.”
Two more victims came forward with allegations against Kristianson dating back to his employment as a sleepaway camp counselor with the South Orange County YMCA. They also said they knew him through family members. The 10 victims ranged in age from nine to 16 years old at the time of the alleged abuses.
Kristanson posted $300,000 bond after his arrest and extradition to Florida in August 2022 and was released without any travel restrictions. He was then picked up in 2023 in Fargo, North Dakota on a felony warrant in connection to the case in Orange County.
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“For decades, Erick Kristianson used cheerleading gyms in Orange County and across the country as a kind of perverted catalog from which to select the next young girl he was going to molest,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer in his office’s statement.
“He was hiding in plain sight, a trusted coach banking on the fact that he could trust his young victims not to say anything about the abuse they were enduring,” Spitzer continued. “Pedophiles will never stop until law enforcement stops them. And this conviction ensures that these young women have a voice to speak out against the sexual abuse they endured as children.”
His maximum possible sentence is 165 years to life in prison, plus six years and eight months in state prison, when he is sentenced March 19, 2026. Additionally, he is still facing child sex charges in Florida for his alleged crimes there, per USA Today.
If you believe you or someone else is the victim of child sexual exploitation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children offers 24/7 support for those in need at 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678), or at report.cybertip.org. You can also contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.
The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline — 800.656.HOPE (4673) — provides free, 24/7 support for those in need.
