Police in Greer, South Carolina – a city of approximately 40,000 located just east of Greenville, S.C. – are investigating an alleged assault involving one of the reported victims of the late Scott Foster, owner and founder of the Rockstar Cheer studio.
Worth noting? One of the three alleged assailants in this case is a member of Foster’s family …
And yes, this is the incident I referenced four days ago in this tweet …
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last week, the mushrooming scandal surrounding Foster and Rockstar Cheer appears to be the epicenter of a nationwide epidemic of sexual abuse involving icons and institutions in the cheerleading industry and dozens – potentially hundreds – of underage victims.
Of interest? One of the three suspects in the assault is a relative of Foster – who committed suicide last Monday via a “self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head” at Paris Mountain state park just north of Greenville.
As this news outlet exclusively reported last week, Foster was “staring down the business end of a multi-jurisdictional investigation into (among other things) allegations of sexual misconduct with underage girls.”
This ongoing investigation is being led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s special investigations unit (HSI) with support from the Greenville County sheriff’s office.
Sources familiar with the inquiry told me this week multiple additional law enforcement agencies in “numerous states” are supporting the probe – which is clearly much bigger than just an inquiry into one man and one business.
In the meantime, officers with the Greer, S.C. police department are investigating an assault with took place at approximately 7:15 p.m. EDT on Friday on the campus of Riverside High School in Greer. Readers will recall Riverside was at the center of the Thornblade scandal, which involved wealthy Upstate men and women allegedly engaging in sex acts with younger partners.
That scandal was also investigated by HSI, however as of this writing no charges were ever filed.
The alleged victim of the Friday assault is a senior at Riverside. Two of the alleged assailants are also seniors at Riverside. The other alleged assailant is from nearby Mauldin, S.C.
“We are going to cave that bitch’s head in,” one of the three young women allegedly said to the victim, according to a witness.
Another witness said one of the three young women allegedly told the victim they were going to “beat your face in.”
The third young woman – the one related to Foster – reportedly told the victim they were there to “kill” her.
***
The extent of the alleged physical assault is not immediately clear, with one witness saying the victim was whisked off by a bystander in a truck “before things could escalate very far.”
Police are reportedly contemplating one assault charge and two intimidation charges in connection with the incident, which was reportedly captured on video.
At this point, my news outlet is not disclosing the identities of either the alleged victim or the three young women who are accused of accosting/ assaulting her. That could change, however, depending on the information disclosed by police in connection with the case – or disclosures made by those involved in the incident (or their legal representatives).
Also, as it relates to charges filed against seniors in high school, I reserve the right to exercise my editorial judgment in publishing the names of anyone accused of criminal activity.
So stay tuned …
One of the most interesting components of the Rockstar Cheer scandal – which, again, is in its infancy – has been the pitched battle within the cheer community over how best to respond to the seismic allegations. Meanwhile, there has also been extensive infighting among those allegedly victimized by Foster and other Rockstar cheer instructors as to what constitutes a “real” victim in this case.
Stay tuned for much more on that front, too, as FITSNews continues to drive coverage of this story the same way we continue to drive coverage of the ‘Murdaugh Murders’ crime and corruption saga.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: FITSNews)
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to proactively address? We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
