A Hammonton mother and son who have been preparing to open a cheer studio are facing charges related to his alleged inappropriate conduct while coaching girls in Burlington County.
Jonathan Ryker, 25, was arrested Thursday, and is charged with five counts, including sexual assault and criminal sexual contact involving at least two girls he coached.
He is accused of having sex with one of the girls when she was 17.
Ryker's mother was arrested five days after her son for witness tampering, after she messaged one of the girls on Snapchat in an alleged attempt to get her to recant her story.
The investigation started Aug. 30, after the owner of Rockstar Cheer was told by a coach that Ryker sent inappropriate messages to a 15-year-old gymnast on Snapchat a year earlier, according to affidavits obtained by BreakingAC.
The girl said Ryker sent her a selfie of him lying shirtless in bed Aug. 19, 2021. When she responded with a selfie of her looking confused, he responded: "Come sme and Smd," the affidavit says.
The girl believed smd stood for "suck my d---."
In the week before the messages, Ryker had allegedly groped the victim during practice at Rockstar Cheer in Souhampton, Burlington County.
She said she was leaving the floor to get water clothed in spandex shorts and a sports bra when Ryker grabbed her lower back, pulled her close to him and then placed his hand on her left buttocks.
He turned her around and said: "Those are nice shorts. Are they new?" according to the affidavit.
During the investigation, a second victim came forward who used to cheer at Rockstar.
She told investigators that Ryker sent her dozens of "unwarranted nude photos and videos of himself masturbating."
The girl said she wound up sending nude photos to Ryker, after he told her during practice that if she didn't "show him something," she wouldn't be able to cheer.
Ryker allegedly showed up to the girl's home in February 2021, and told her he was waiting outside for her. He then took her to a hotel, where the two had sex.
She was 17 at the time.
"You can say it was consensual," she told police. "But, like, I didn't really want to, but I did either way."
"She described the encounter as physical and that Jonathan was aggressive," the detective wrote in teh affidavit.
She said at one point she thought he was going to kill her.
This past February, a warrant led to a recorded conversation between the first girl and Ryker.
During the call, Ryker was allegedly heard instructing her to tell law enforcement that she was 18 years old at the time of the incident.
He said "to just leave the first time they had sexual intercourse out, and say that she was 18 years old, just to be safe," the affidavit reads.
Angela Ryker allegedly used TikTok to reach out to what appears to be a third victim.
Police were called to the girl's home Sept. 3, 2022, for a report of inappropriate text messages and sexual contact between the girl and Jonathan Ryker.
An investigation was launched.
The detective was then alerted Sept. 15, that Angela Ryker had messaged via TikTok.
"Maybe you should message me," the 51-year-old mom wrote, the affidavit states.
Instead, police were called.
"I just wanted the girl to recant what she said and be done with it," Angela Ryker allegedly told the detective Sept. 16.
She was told not to have contact with anyone regarding the investigation from that point forward, the detective wrote in the affidavit.
But since then, Ryker "continually reached out to people on social media, email and text stating that the victim had a troubled past and not to believe what she was telling police," the detective wrote.
In a Facebook post, Ryker insisted they were cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
It had 193 signatures as of Tuesday evening.
On March 1, Angela Ryker posted about Rock Royalty Cheerleading. "It's time to place your bet on the newest Jersey threat," she wrote with a picture of the name and address in Atco.
"Jonathan's spot?" one commenter asked her.
"Yes it is," another person replied. "He's so excited!!"
But it appears Ryker has been on the USA Cheer and USASF Unified Ineligibility List since September, according to a post by Spirit Brands, an Atco-based company that runs cheer camps, clinics and competitions.
"The only information released at that time was that Ryker was temporarily ineligible pending investigation for a member policy violation related to athlete protection," Spirit Brands wrote in a Facebook post. "Any further information on the matter had not been released and formal charges were not issued until March 30th, 2023."
The group stressed that "despite previous affiliations, Jonathan and Angel (Angela Ryker) have been banned from Spirit Brands events until further notice to ensure the safety of all in attendance."
"The Ryker family had worked with and attended Spirit Brands events over the years, however, their presence has been very limited since the pandemic," the post continued. "They currently have no roles/positions with the company."
The post continued, saying that the group was "not aware of the nature of things at the time of this event and we wish to apologize to all of the gyms, teams, athletes, and families that were in attendance."
They then promised to be part of stricter protocols to increase safety.
"Our hearts go out to those affected by this situation and we plan to be a part of the shifts being made in the sport to more thoroughly protect our athletes," they wrote.
Jonathan Ryker was released from jail Tuesday, records show.
His mother appears to have only been at the jail a few hours before she was released.
