Family sues Clermont cheer gym after co-owner sent to prison for child porn

By Web Staff

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    CLERMONT, Florida (WESH) — Outside of the federal courthouse in downtown Orlando on Wednesday, attorney Jessica Arbour announced that her law firm filed a new lawsuit against World Cheer Center – Home of the Rush All Stars.

“Where you find kids, you will find predators. And this is no exception,” said Jessica Arbour.

The cheerleading gym in Clermont shut down last year after one of its owners, Vigiland D’Haiti, was arrested on molestation charges. D’Haiti is accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old and two 15-year-old girls, according to Clermont police.

Arbour said one of those girls is her client. Now, they are filing a lawsuit against the gym that D’Haiti and his wife owned.

“She’s a child,” said Arbour. “Her parents had the right to believe that she was safe and that she was in a place where she was developing her cheer skills and her tumbling skills, not in a place where they felt she was going to be a victim to a predator.”

Just last week, D’Haiti was sentenced to 29 years in prison after taking a federal plea deal. He pleaded guilty to producing child porn.

Meanwhile, the molestation case is still ongoing. Arbour said her client has been targeted for speaking out.

“She’s been told to go kill herself. She’s been called a liar. She has been bullied, and she has been treated horribly for doing what any good, decent person would do, which is sound the alarm on someone who’s hurting kids,” she said.

Arbour said they want a jury trial.

“I want a jury to decide what Jane Doe’s innocence is worth,” she said.

They are also suing two national cheerleading governing bodies, United States All Star Federation and Varsity Spirit, claiming negligence and vicarious liability.

“It was the obligation of Varsity spirit and USASF to provide a safe environment, to provide policies and procedures that were enforced that would provide a safe environment for Jane Doe,” said Arbour. “If you’re going to make billions of dollars off of kids and their families, you need to make sure that those kids are safe.”

On Wednesday, Varsity Spirit spokesperson Susan Crumpton sent WESH 2 News the following statement in response to the lawsuit:

“First and foremost, our concern is for the survivors and their families. Varsity Spirit strongly condemns Vigiland D’Haiti’s actions and fully supports the victims’ pursuit of justice against the individual responsible for the harm they have suffered.

However, any attempt to affix blame on Varsity Spirit is misguided and unsupported by the facts. Varsity Spirit did not own or operate the gym where D’Haiti coached. Furthermore, the USASF is an independent, not-for-profit body. Varsity Spirit intends to strongly defend itself in this litigation.”

WESH 2 News also reached out to World Cheer Center and USASF and has not yet heard back.

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