Cheerleader Coach Accused of Molesting 6 Girls in Orange County

This photograph, provided by the Orange County District Attorney's Office shows former Orange County cheerleading coach Erick Joseph Kristianson, who has been charged with molesting girls as young as 11 years old in Southern California and he faces similar charges in Florida, prosecutors said on May 10, 2023. Orange County District Attorney's Office via AP

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A cheerleader coach made his first appearance in court on May 10 on charges of molesting six girls in Orange County.

Erick Joseph Kristianson, 44, of Antioch, Tennessee, was booked into the Orange County Jail on May 8 on multiple charges of molesting girls from 2002 through 2006, according to court and jail records. Kristianson, who is being held without bail, had his arraignment Wednesday in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana rescheduled for May 26 in the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.