Robert Joseph Scianna Jr., 25, and Mitchell Ryan, 23, two cheerleaders who appeared on the Netflix documentary series Compliment, were separately charged with alleged crimes related to sexual misconduct with minors this week.
Ryan, a member of the Navarro College cheerleading team that was the focus of the Netflix series, was arrested in Texas on Wednesday. He was charged with aggravated sexual assault on a minor because of an incident that allegedly occurred in July 2020, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office told BuzzFeed News.
His attorney Jeremy Rosenthal responded to BuzzFeed News’s request for comment, but Rosenthal told USA Today: “This has been a nightmare for Mitch and his family. We hope that Dallas County hears the truth and this case is closed.”
Ryan posted bail on Friday morning and was released, the sheriff’s office said.
Scianna, whose website says he is an NCA champion and twice a world champion, was also arrested on Wednesday by Chesterfield County Police in Virginia, USA Today reported.
He was accused of indecent freedom with a minor and using a communication system to request sex, a Chesterfield County Jail spokesman confirmed to BuzzFeed News.
Police said he allegedly arranged to meet a young man 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 young cheerleaders, said in a statement on Friday that they were “outraged at reports of sexual misconduct”.
The organization said it did not know about allegations of sexual misconduct against Scianna before her arrest.
However, the USASF was aware of the allegations against Ryan after receiving a complaint in late October, he said, and “immediately ensured that he had been reported to law enforcement and subsequently initiated an investigation by us, which was ongoing when he was stuck. “
The organization told BuzzFeed News that Scianna and Ryan were placed on the “Unified Ineligibility List”.
The charges against the two cheerleaders involved in the Netflix documentary series come after Jerry Harris, a star on the show, was accused of additional child pornography in December.
Harris had been arrested in September on suspicion of producing child pornography, and prosecutors later claimed in a pre-trial detention hearing that he could have allegedly killed at least 10 boys.
In a statement to ABC News at the time of his arrest, a Harris spokesman said they “categorically contest” the charges against him. However, the initial criminal complaint filed against him stated that he admitted to investigators that he had sex with a minor in a cheering competition in 2019.