WOODSTOCK, Ga. — A cheerleading coach at a Woodstock gym has been arrested and faces multiple felony charges of molesting a teenage boy.
An arrest warrant obtained by 11Alive alleges that Donald Jones, identified by Rockstar Cheer in Woodstock on their website as the athletic director of their program, molested the boy at his Marietta home last Thursday.
A parent whose daughter was coached by Jones told 11Alive that when she heard about the allegations her "heart literally sunk," adding that she "just felt like (her) legs were going to give out."
The mother, who wants to remain anonymous, says the toughest part of it all was having to talk to her daughter about it. "I wanted to cry because I knew then that I was going to have to have a discussion with my daughter that no mother should ever have," she said.
Now, it isn't clear whether the teen had any affiliation with the cheerleading program. The mother who spoke to us under condition of anonymity says he was brought in several years ago as a coach to help the organization succeed.
"He's been there for about five years, and when he did come in you know they were like you're expected to follow his lead, you know, he's a great person, he's going to make us winners," she said.
The warrant accuses Jones of picking the boy up and taking him back to his home, where he molested him in multiple instances. Jones faces three felony counts of aggravated child molestation and one felony count of enticing a child.
During the alleged acts, the warrant says the victim told Jones to stop and "asked why it hurt."
According to jail records, Jones was arrested on Sunday morning and released that afternoon on a $100,000 bond.
According to a statement released to families associated with Rockstar Cheer Atlanta and forwarded to 11Alive by the facility's operator Carolyn Garrison, Jones was removed from Rockstar Cheer's staff as a coach on Sunday morning.
"While we are not privy to the facts and circumstances surrounding his arrest, there is no question that these are serious allegations," Garrison said in the statement. "Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and for the safety of our athletes, Rockstar Cheer Atlanta has dismissed Donald Jones as a coach as of 10:00 am this morning. Donald is no longer affiliated with Rockstar Cheer Atlanta in any way."
On the gym's website, Rockstar Cheer operator Carolyn Garrison described Jones as someone who helped elevate the program competitively.
"HE asked us to expect more. HE asked us to demand more. HE demanded more from us. HE asked us to compete more. HE elevated ALL of us," a blog post from January 2019 reads. "It is only through my extreme faith and confidence in Donald that we are where we are today. This season he has given us one highly competitive competition schedule. He has done this intentionally. He did this because we are ready for our next challenge. Our coaches and athletes are expected to follow his lead and ...you guessed it..trust the process. I trust the process with all of my heart - I trust and believe so strongly in Donald that he gives me anxiety - lol!"
A quote is also attributed to him on the program's "About" page:
“At NMEC/Rockstar our commitment to each and every child and family is important to us. Celebrating every success and working through failures is part of cheer and it is part of life lessons. We take seriously our responsibility to teach and guide these life lessons and core values that will last a lifetime.”
MORE HEADLINES