Action Images/Jed Leicester via Reuters
When a Central Florida cheerleading coach was arrested earlier this year on charges that he sexually molested at least three young girls who trained at his gym, he insisted that the accusations were patently false.
“He did not do what he’s accused of,” attorney Mark Longwell said a week or so after Vigiland D’Haiti was led from his Clermont home in handcuffs. “He flatly denies it. He is horrified by the allegations. He’s in a line of work where he works with minors and his livelihood and his reputation are being destroyed by these allegations, which maybe that was the point of all of this.”
Cheerleading is a physical sport, but any touching that occurred was not at all sexual, according to Longwell, who said D’Haiti, 39, and his wife Kelly have owned the World Cheer Center for more than 20 years. Besides, Longwell told Fox 35, D’Haiti’s gym had an open floor plan, where everyone could see everyone else at all times.
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