Robert Joseph Scianna Jr., 25, and Mitchell Ryan, 23, two cheerleaders who appeared in the Netflix docuseries Cheer, have separately been charged with alleged offenses relating to sexual misconduct with minors this week.
Ryan, a member of the Navarro College cheer team that was the focus of the Netflix series, was arrested in Texas on Wednesday. He was charged with aggravated sexual assault against a minor over an incident that allegedly took place in July 2020, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office told BuzzFeed News.
His lawyer Jeremy Rosenthal did respond to BuzzFeed News’ request for comment, but Rosenthal told USA Today, “This has been a nightmare for Mitch and his family. We look forward to Dallas County hearing the truth and this case being over.”
Ryan posted bond on Friday morning and was released, the sheriff’s office said.
Scianna, whose website says he is an NCA Champion and a two-time World Champion, was also arrested on Wednesday by Chesterfield County Police in Virginia, USA Today reported.
He has been charged with indecent liberties with a minor and using a communication system to solicit sex, a spokesperson for the Chesterfield County Jail confirmed to BuzzFeed News.
Police said he allegedly arranged to meet a juvenile whom he met through a social media platform for sex, USA Today reported.
Scianna did not respond to a request for comment.
The United States All Star Federation (USASF), a network of youth athletes in cheerleading, said in a statement Friday that they are “outraged by the reports of sexual misconduct.”
The organization said it did not know about the allegations of sexual misconduct against Scianna prior to his arrest.
However, the USASF had been aware of the allegations against Ryan after receiving a complaint in late October, it said, and “immediately ensured that it had been reported to law enforcement and later began an investigation of our own, which was ongoing when he was arrested.”
The organization told BuzzFeed News that Scianna and Ryan have been placed on the “Unified Ineligibility List.”
The charges against the two cheerleaders involved in the Netflix docuseries comes after Jerry Harris, a star of the show, was charged additional child pornography charges in December.
Harris had been arrested in September on suspicion of producing child pornography, and prosecutors later claimed in a pretrial detention hearing that he could have allegedly victimized at least 10 boys.
In a statement to ABC News at the time of his arrest, a spokesperson for Harris said they “categorically dispute” the allegations against him. However, the initial criminal complaint filed against him stated that he admitted to investigators that he had sex with a minor at a cheer competition in 2019.