Monica Aldama, who starred in popular Netflix docuseries “Cheer,” is being sued after allegedly telling a former student to “keep quiet” about being sexually assaulted.
via Page Six:
According to court documents obtained by Page Six, cheerleader Madi Lane claims she was sexually assaulted by teammate Salvatore “Salvo” Amico during her first semester at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
Lane claims the alleged assault occurred in 2021 after her then-roommate invited a group of guys over to their dorm room after a night of partying.
Although Lane tried to go to sleep while everyone else hung out in the living room, Amico allegedly climbed into bed with her and began ripping off her clothing.Despite screaming and begging him to stop, Lane claims Amico groped her chest and inserted his fingers inside her before she was able fight him off.
After Lane told Aldama what allegedly happened, she claims the coach told her, “Let’s not make this a big deal. I want the best for you and I will help you cheer wherever you want.”
When Lane quit the team a week later, Aldama reportedly told her to “keep quiet” if she wanted to continue her collegiate career in cheerleading.
Lane also claims one of the “veteran” cheerleaders, Maddy Brum, told her the same thing.
“We don’t tell anyone. We just keep it to ourselves,” Brum allegedly told Lane, threatening that the school would cut their cheer program if she reported it and everyone would hate her.
Lane, who is now on the cheer team at the University of Texas at Permian Basin, claimed her dream of competing on a nationally ranked team was squashed after Navarro coaches and former teammates “blackballed” her from other programs for coming forward about the alleged assault.
TMZ was first to report the story.
Reps for Aldama did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
This isn’t the first time the cheerleading competition series has been under scrutiny.
Last year, another one of the show’s cheerleaders, Jerry Harris, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for soliciting naked pictures of underage boys.
Harris was originally arrested in September 2020 after the FBI raided his home and charged him with producing child pornography.
He had also allegedly solicited sex from minors at cheerleading competitions.
During his sentencing, he told the court he is “ashamed” of his actions and apologized to his victims for causing them “harm.”
‘Cheer’ always has some sh*t going on. Who knew the cheer community was so…toxic?
