A former cheerleading coach from Normal has been sentenced to more than four years in prison. Brady Stoewer was handed the 4.5-year sentence during an all-day hearing Friday in McLean County Court after pleading guilty to engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a minor.
Stoewer, 24, was originally charged with 26 felony counts, including 14 counts of criminal sexual assault of a minor between the ages of 13 and 17 and nine counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a juvenile victim under the age of 18, both Class 1 felonies. Stoewer was additionally charged with four counts of grooming, a Class 4 felony, and two counts of soliciting child pornography from a minor, a Class 1 felony.
All but one count were dismissed as part of an open plea agreement, in which Stoewer admitted to touching the breast of a 17-year-old girl enrolled as a member at the tumbling gym where he worked.
During Friday’s sentencing hearing, special prosecutor Kate Kurtz requested an 8-year prison sentence on the single charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child while in a position of trust and authority. The maximum possible sentence for the Class 1 felony charge was 15 years. McLean County State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds said in an email Kurtz was called in months ago due to a conflict of interest.
During testimony, the victim’s mother said her daughter was interested in trying out for the cheer team at University High School and sought coaching at Technique Tumbling and Cheer Prep in Normal, where Stoewer was employed from 2019-2024.
“Never would I have imagined it would be a place where she would be sexual exploited by a person of authority, her coach,” said the mother, who added their family dynamic has changed since 2024.
The victim, now attending college out of state, has a more distant relationship with her parents, her mother said, noting her daughter’s deteriorating mood since not making the cheer team and disclosing a dating relationship with Stoewer, who was 23 at the time.
“I want her to know that I’m proud of her for not being afraid to expose the truth,” she said.
'You manipulated me'
In a statement to the court, the victim addressed Stoewer directly, saying she liked him and at first appreciated the individual attention she received. The girl said Stoewer arranged private lessons and intimate conversations online, which escalated to sexual contact.
“It felt mature, but I knew deep down it wasn’t right or normal,” she said. “You manipulated me into thinking everything was normal.”
She said initially she “didn’t want to get [Stoewer] in trouble,” but a friend convinced her to speak with police.
“Brady Stoewer, you deceived me, took advantage of me and betrayed my trust,” she said. “You changed how I view relationships and people, especially men. …You also changed my ability to trust my own judgment.”
Kurtz presented evidence and testimony related to other victims, who Stoewer allegedly contacted through Snapchat and sent suggestive photos and text messages. His mother testified that Stoewer approached her in the spring of 2024, saying he was “overwhelmed” by attention he was receiving on Snapchat and that he’d decided to delete the app.
In his statement to the court, Stoewer said he had a “childish and inappropriate” Snapchat addiction. He apologized directly to several people in the courtroom’s full gallery, including the victim, a cousin he allegedly had sexual contact with when they were children and Russell Berndt, the owner of Technique Tumbling and Cheer Prep since it opened in 2017.
'It's just so disappointing.'
During witness testimony, defense attorney Adam Ghrist asked Berndt if Technique is “the gym” for cheerleading training outside school programs.
“It was,” Berndt said.
Berndt’s former gym, Rising Stars Academy in Bloomington, has closed. Technique remains open, and Berndt said he’s increased the training requirements for coaches through a program called Safe Sport since this incident occurred.
Berndt said the gym has always had a policy that two adults must be in the room with minors, whether that’s two coaches or a coach and a parent, but the allegations include instances when Stoewer met the victim alone at the gym, to which he had keys.
Berndt said Stoewer was a “model employee,” and a talented coach with a bright future, “sought out all over Illinois.” He said he couldn’t “wrap his brain” around what is alleged to have happened. As a coach for over 34 years, Berndt said his goal has always been to empower youth through cheerleading and tumbling.
“It’s just so disappointing,” he said.
'They deserve to be protected.'
Ghrist, a former McLean County prosecutor, asked for probation, noting Stoewer’s approximately 600 days in custody since his arrest in 2024. Stoewer appeared for Friday’s sentencing wearing the facility’s standard issue, forest green uniform but without shackles. His two years in McLean County jail will be credited toward his prison sentence. The charge is also eligible for day-for-day credit, making Stoewer potentially eligible for release in a just over a year.
As part of his argument, Ghrist attempted to poke holes in the police investigation. He played select portions of an interview with a witness who told Normal Police Detective Kendra DeRosa the victim knew Stoewer’s reputation for dating underage girls and “thought it was funny.” Ghrist additionally pressed DeRosa on her recollection of the witness interview, and whether she’d followed up on certain statements made by the witness. He also challenged DeRosa’s decision to not question Stoewer or adequately warn him that he was going to be arrested.
DeRosa said police are not required to notify suspects or their attorneys of a pending arrest. She said it is just a courtesy.
In making his judgment, McLean County Judge Casey Costigan noted Stoewer’s lack of criminal history and strong family support, including his parents’ attendance at every hearing over nearly two years of court proceedings. He said when weighing the totality of the evidence, probation was not a suitable punishment.
“No matter what set of facts and circumstances, it is a difficult case,” Costigan said. “To go ahead and hear this evidence, to see this type of sentencing hearing play out. I understand it’s an emotional case. …This court does not deal with emotion. This court deals on facts.”
Costigan said he had a “difficult time” accepting Ghrist’s argument that the victim had baited Stoewer by returning his advances, suggested by video evidence of an interview between DeRosa and one of the victim’s friends. The friend told DeRosa the victim knew of Stoewer’s reputation for dating underage girls and “thought it was funny.”
Nor did Costigan give much weight to the closeness in age between Stoewer and the victim. Pointing to statements by Stoewer’s parents indicating their son is a “rules follower,” Costigan said there were clear violations of policies in place at the gym designed to protect children from harm.
A 17-year-old walked into the gym and signed up for cheer coaching, Costigan said, and she “deserve[d] to be protected.”
Stoewer is not Bloomington-Normal’s only cheerleading coach to face prison time for alleged inappropriate conduct with minors. Andrew “Drew” Miller, a former University High School cheer coach, was volunteering for Lexington High School’s cheer squad until police launched an investigation that included a search of his home and classroom at Chiddix Junior High, where he was also a teacher.
Miller next appears in court for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 11.
