Cheerleading Coach Sentenced to 174 Years for Molesting 10 Girls Over Two Decades
An Orange County cheerleading coach who molested 10 young girls over the course of two decades has been sentenced to more than 174 years to life in prison. Erick Joseph Kristianson, 46, was convicted in December 2024 on 23 felony counts of child sexual assault and sentenced April 23 by Orange County Superior Court Judge Kevin Haskins, who also ordered him to register as a sex offender for life.
Who He Was and How He Got Access
Kristianson worked as a competitive cheerleading coach at Magic All-Stars from 2002 to 2005 and as an assistant coach at Trabuco Hills High School from 2004 to 2006. He also worked as a counselor at a South Orange County YMCA sleep-away camp in 1999 and 2000. Those positions gave him sustained access to young girls, with victims ranging in age from 9 to 16 at the time of the abuse.
Most of the accusations did not come to light until 2022, when Kristianson was arrested in Daytona Beach, Florida on suspicion of masturbating on camera in front of three children between the ages of 11 and 13, and touching the private parts of a 13-year-old girl. That Florida arrest prompted eight of his Orange County victims to come forward. Two others had known him through a family connection or his time at the YMCA camp.
What Victims Said at Sentencing
Multiple victims delivered impact statements to Judge Haskins, describing decades of lasting harm. One woman, who was 14 when she met Kristianson at a YMCA camp, said she had struggled with suicidal ideation and would never allow her own children to go on an unsupervised camp trip. "I was targeted and groomed by a pedophile," she told the court. "He manipulated me. I was traumatized and still am."
Another victim said she fell into drug and alcohol abuse after the abuse and barely graduated high school. "I wanted to die. I hated myself," she said. A third described deep trust issues, an eating disorder, and the inability to be intimate in relationships. "What was taken from me was my childhood innocence," she said.
One victim said she went on to become a first responder and a cheerleading coach in her own right, winning awards for her work. "But my resiliency should not lead to leniency," she told the court. "He does not deserve leniency... I am a success despite him."
The Sentence and What It Means
Judge Haskins sentenced Kristianson to 174 years and four months to life, with sentencing enhancements applied for multiple victims and substantial sexual conduct. He was awarded 1,622 days of custody credit for time already served but will effectively spend the rest of his life in a jail cell. Kristianson testified at trial that he never molested any of the girls and claimed security cameras were present at the gyms where he worked with accusers. He also faces separate charges in Florida.
Prosecutor Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver noted in closing arguments that the Orange County victims had been living their lives normally until Kristianson's 2022 Florida arrest brought everything to the surface, countering and discrediting the trauma detailed by multiple victims. Kristianson had been detained and questioned by deputies as far back as November 2005, but was not charged at that time.
His Mother's Defense
Kristianson's mother, Kristin Kristianson, addressed the court and said she had prayed for everyone involved. She characterized her son as "a caring, loving person" and noted that the crimes were committed when he was in his 20s. "I believe in second chances," she said. The judge was unmoved. The harm to children detailed across the multi-week trial left little room for leniency arguments.
The Orange County District Attorney's office confirmed Kristianson will also face the Florida charges, which include exposing himself to three young athletes he coached there and sexually assaulting one of them. Details on the Florida case timeline have not been released.
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