ST. HELENS, Ore. — In news that will shock absolutely no one who’s been paying attention to St. Helens lately, a former local cheer coach has now been convicted of sexual abuse and furnishing alcohol to a minor.
Anthony Trenkler, 27, of St. Helens, was found guilty this week on three counts: first-degree sexual abuse, attempted first-degree sexual abuse, and providing alcohol to someone under 21. A judge ordered him into custody while he awaits sentencing.
According to court records, the attempted sexual abuse charge stemmed from allegations that Trenkler tried to force a victim to touch him in August 2024. The first-degree sexual abuse conviction involved allegations of inappropriate touching prior to that date at Vault Elite Cheer.
Jurors acquitted him on several other charges. Small mercies, we suppose.
If this feels like déjà vu, that’s because it is.
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St. Helens has spent the past year building quite the résumé when it comes to institutional chaos. Just months ago, St. Helens High School was hit with a $3 million lawsuit after a student was brutally beaten outside the school entrance while staff allegedly stood nearby and did nothing. That incident followed a sprawling sexual abuse scandal involving multiple school employees, criminal charges against former Principal Katy Wagner for allegedly failing to report abuse, and the resignation of Superintendent Scot Stockwell.
So when yet another adult entrusted with young people is convicted of sexual abuse in the same community, the reaction from many residents seems less like shock and more like exhausted recognition.
Authorities say Trenkler’s case began with an arrest in September 2024 and expanded during a two-week police investigation, as detectives identified additional alleged victims connected to his work as a cheer coach. A Columbia County grand jury later returned the indictment that ultimately led to this week’s convictions.
Law enforcement is still asking anyone with additional information to contact the St. Helens Police Department.
At this point, that request almost feels like a standing order.
Because when you combine repeated allegations of abuse, administrators accused of looking the other way, violent campus assaults, and now a convicted cheer coach, it stops feeling like isolated incidents and starts looking like a systemic failure that somehow keeps managing to surprise only the people in charge.
Parents are left wondering how many more headlines it will take before real accountability finally sticks.
And in St. Helens, that question is no longer rhetorical.
Source: KPTV
