A Bellevue man is accused of molesting two teenagers on multiple occasions and abusing his supervisory position as their cheerleading coach to engage in sexual contact, prosecutors say.
Brian Antich was charged Friday with two counts of child molestation in the third degree and one count of sexual misconduct with a minor in the second degree, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
Antich, the owner and head cheerleading coach of Action Athletics, gained the trust of the two teenagers before molesting them under the guise of practicing cheerleading maneuvers, according to court documents.
"The predatory nature of this offense is shocking. The defendant, a 50-year-old man, has had years of unfettered access to children in his capacity as a cheerleading coach," a Bellevue Police Department detective wrote in probable-cause documents.
The state requested an order prohibiting Antich from having contact with any minors and for the court to issue sexual-assault protection orders. Antich's bail was set at $50,000.
Antich made efforts to spend time alone with each of the teens, according to probable-cause documents. Both teens were afraid to report Antich out of fear of being removed from the cheerleading team, according to court documents.
On July 25, police received a sexual-assault report from a woman who knew the two teens. She told police Antich had inappropriately touched one of the teens under her shorts while spotting her, according to court documents.
Police interviewed one of the teens the following day, who showed them rapid-fire camera photos for a promotional shoot that captured Antich inappropriately touching the teen at least eight times and not following proper spotting protocols, according to probable-cause documents.
The teenager told police Antich began touching her inappropriately at a cheer camp in April 2021, documents say. She was too scared to tell him to stop, so had another girl film her stunts while Antich spotted her, thinking he would refrain from inappropriately touching her if he were being filmed, which he did.
The teen told police she turned off her location feature on a social media app, where she was social media friends with Antich like most people at the gym, because Antich's location would show up near her neighborhood for hours. He would also send her photos of the road leading to her house asking if he should go over, probable-cause documents said.
The second teen went to police on July 26 to provide a statement. She told detectives Antich made sexual contact with her while she helped him demonstrate a cheer pose.
The teen told police she estimated he made inappropriate contact over 100 times, making her feel confused and uncomfortable, according to court documents.
