Former OC cheer coach charged with molesting 6 youth athletes
A former Orange County competitive cheerleading coach has been charged with multiple felonies for molesting six girls as young as 11 years old while coaching at a competitive cheer club and a Mission Viejo High School.
He is also facing child molestation and child exhibition charges in Florida related to four young competitive cheer athletes he coached in Daytona Beach.
Erick Joseph Kristianson, 44, of Antioch, Tennessee, was arrested last week in Fargo, North Dakota on a warrant in the Orange County case. He faces 16 various felony counts with victims all under 18 years of age.
Kristianson is facing a maximum sentence of 105 years to life plus five years and four months if convicted on all charges.
Kristianson worked as a competitive cheerleading coach at Magic All-Stars from 2002 to 2008 and as an assistant cheer coach at Trabuco Hills High School in 2005 where he is accused of gaining access to six young girls that he molested in Orange County.
The allegations against Kristianson involving Orange County children athletes came to light in 2022 after he was arrested in Daytona Beach, Florida for lewd behavior.
After news reports regarding Kristianson's arrest in Florida, a young woman contacted Orange County authorities to report she was molested by Kristianson beginning when she was 14 years old while he was her cheer coach.
Kristianson is accused of picking up the girl from school or taking her home from cheer practice and engaging in sexual activity with her until she turned 16.
Kristianson is accused of molesting five other Orange County girls he coached between 2002 and 2007, routinely taking some of the girls to off-campus events and to his home where he would molest them. The girls ranged in age from 11 to 16 years old.
In August 2022, Kristianson was arrested in Kansas on a warrant and extradited back to Florida to face charges for exposing himself to three teenage girls during a FaceTime call. He posted a $300,000 bond and was released without any restrictions on leaving the state.
Last week, Kristianson was arrested in Fargo, North Dakota on a felony warrant in connection with the Orange County case. He is currently being held without bail at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange.
Authorities believe there may be additional victims. Anyone with information about additional potential victims is asked to call Orange County Sheriff's Department Investigator at 714-647-4016.
