Contributed photo from the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office / James Everett SissonA Ringgold, Georgia, cheerleading coach who was arrested and charged with child molestation last week has been released on bond, Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk said.
James 'Jimmy' Sisson, 49, was arrested on Monday and charged with failure to appear with a $225 bond, criminal attempt to commit a felony with a $7,500 bond and child molestation with a $7,500 bond.
Investigators acting on a tip reportedly found evidence that Sisson had inappropriate contact with an underage girl while working as a cheerleading coach at Culprit Athletics, a Ringgold-based performance training school with a focus on cheerleading, gymnastics and fitness. This led to his eventual arrest, according to a statement from Catoosa County spokesperson John Pless.
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Asked if there were any updates in the investigation, Sisk said it "does appear to be expanding" during a phone call with the Times Free Press. "The investigation is in preliminary stages right now, and I can't speak about it due to that being ongoing."
Before his arrest, Sisson was the director of cheerleading at Culprit Athletics and worked with the Heritage Middle School cheerleading team through his work there. He has since been let go, according to owner Austin Culp, and will never work with the gym again.
Catoosa County Public Schools spokesperson Marissa Brower said the middle school cheerleading team will no longer train there either.
A news release from the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office said Sisson also had been employed by Hot Shots, previously known as Crush, in the past.
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Grant Magness, owner of Hot Shots Cheerleading and Tumbling Center in Rome, Georgia, has since contacted the Times Free Press to say that Sisson was never employed at one of his gyms.
While he and his wife, Rachel Magness, did open the Hot Shots gym in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, in 2011, they sold that gym in 2015 to new owners. It was then run under the name 'NGA Cheer, DBA Hot Shots Fort Oglethorpe.'
"He was hired by NGA Cheer, DBA Hot Shots Fort Oglethorpe, a completely separate, legal entity neither run, managed, nor operated by Hot Shots Cheerleading and Tumbling Center Inc.," Magness said.
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Detective Clay Thompson is the investigator covering the case for the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Sisk encouraged anyone with information to reach out to Thompson directly at (706) 935-2424, extension 1020.
The Times Free Press reached out to Sisson for comment with no response.
Contact Kelcey Caulder at kcaulder@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @kelceycaulder.