Cobb cheerleading gym being sued after teen boy says coach raped him

MARIETTA, Ga. — Stingray Allstars cheerleading gym in Marietta is the subject of a federal lawsuit after a teenager claims he was raped by a coach.

According to the lawsuit, the then-15-year-old boy, referred to as John Doe, was recruited by the gym and moved Cobb County from Ohio in 2020. He was living with one of the gym’s coaches.

At one point, the victim and the coach he was living with went to the apartment of an 18-year-old coach at the gym where he was raped, the lawsuit alleges.

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The lawsuit says the sexual assault became public knowledge at the gym, but none of the employees or adults reported it to police.

The teenager was later solicited for sex by several other athletes and also received a photo of an adult cheerleader’s genitals.

To cope with the assault, the lawsuit says John Doe began abusing alcohol. One of the coaches reportedly pulled him to the side and told him to stop drinking because of his “bad reputation” because of “you know what happened with you know who.”

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The assault was not reported to police until the boy’s mother found out about it in September 2022.

The lawsuit goes on to allege that the gym and the U.S. All Star Federation did not do enough to protect their underage athletes, including John Doe.

The full lawsuit can be read below.

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