South Carolina Cheer Coach Who Died By Suicide Accused Of Sexually Abusing Underage Student

A prominent South Carolina cheer coach who took his own life last week has been accused of sending a minor cheerleader nude photos of himself, supplying her with alcohol and coercing her to perform sexual acts, according to a new lawsuit.

Scott Foster — the 49-year-old owner and co-founder of Rockstar Cheer — was found dead in his vehicle Aug. 22 at Paris Mountain State Park.

The Greenville County Coroner later concluded that Foster died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, shortly after allegations began to surface that he had sexually abused some of his students, according to Law & Crime.

On Tuesday, attorneys representing a female cheerleader — referred to in the court documents only as “Jane Doe” — took aim at Foster in a new lawsuit, seeking to obtain damages from: his estate; Rockstar Cheer & Dance Inc.; Varsity Spirit LLC, a governing body for competitive cheerleading competitions; the United States All Star Federation, a non-profit governing body for competitive cheer; and The National Center for Safety Initiatives LLC.

Scott Foster Photo: Facebook

The lawsuit, obtained by the news outlet, accuses Foster of using his position of power as a coach to take advantage of his students.

“Foster used this position to coerce children to concede to his sexual suggestions, using his authority and position of trust to exploit them physically, sexually and emotionally,” it alleges, while noting that Rockstar Cheer owns and/or operates 16 separate facilities across the United States.

Foster founded the company with his wife in 2007.

The lawsuit goes on to lay out the specific allegations against Foster related to Jane Doe.

According to the girl’s attorneys, Foster began “to take an interest” in her after she was promoted to one of Rockstar’s top-tier teams in 2020.

“Over the next six months, Foster had multiple communications with Plaintiff, primarily through Snapchat, that included messages of a sexual nature, nude pictures of himself and requests for nude pictures of Plaintiff,” the lawsuit alleges.

Jane Doe provided the images to Foster through Snapchat. The exploitation, however, soon turned physical, according to the suit.

“Over the following year on at least 10 occasions, Plaintiff was persuaded into performing various sexual acts including oral and penetrative sex with Foster,” her attorneys wrote. “These acts occurred in Foster’s home, in Foster’s vehicle, Rockstar’s facility, at hotels during competitions and in both South Carolina and Florida.”

On many of the occasions, Jane Doe was plied with alcohol “in an effort to further persuade Plaintiff to perform sexual acts with him,” according to the court documents.

The suit contends that Jane Doe suffered “severe emotional distress” as a result of the alleged sexual abuse.

The suit accuses USASF and Varsity of failing to act in a responsible manner after receiving complaints about Foster despite the “seriousness of the allegations,” and alleges negligence by the organizations.

In a statement released earlier this week, USASF said it was “devastated” to learn of the abuse allegations in South Carolina and other areas.

“Our organization is dedicated to athlete safety, in all aspects, and has created a strong foundation that relies on athletes, coaches, event producers and parents to report allegations of prohibited conduct,” they said. “We respect the central role of law enforcement in investigating such reports, as part of our commitment to a safe environment for all our members.”

They declined to comment on any specific allegations and urged anyone who may suspect abuse to come forward and report it.

Jane Doe is being represented by the law firms Chappell, Smith & Arden and Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey. Oxygen.com reached out to both firms but did not receive an immediate response.