Man Admits To Sexually Assaulting Girl On Wife's NJ Cheer Team

MANTUA, NJ — A 46-year-old man pleaded guilty to having sex with an underage girl who was on a cheerleading team that his wife coached, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said.

Michael Brown, of Mantua, was charged with one count of first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a minor and accepted a plea deal in the case.

He admitted to having intercourse with the girl who was between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time.

This occurred at multiple locations, including at his Mantua home while he had "supervisory power" over her, she was staying overnight, and it was his "legal duty" to take care of her, officials said.

The girl came forward on Dec. 14, 2025, and told Mantua Police that she was sexually assaulted more than 10 times beginning when she was just 13 years old, from 2018 to 2020.

Michael's wife, Valerie Brown, was a coach and president of the Harrison Sparks cheerleading team that the girl was on.

According to court filings, Michael drove the child to a Best Western motel on multiple occasions and sexually assaulted her. Along with his home in Mantua, at least one other location in Woodbury was also used to commit the acts.

According to a connection within bank statements presented in court, police determined that Valerie knew about the hotel visits and told the girl that sexual messages her husband sent her were a joke.

She also demanded that she delete the messages and not contact him in any way.

Both Michael and Valerie were arrested on Dec. 18, 2025.

Michael's charges were upgraded in January after search warrants were carried out on both of their cell phones.

Potential charges of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sexual contact against Valerie are still under review.

Michael Brown will be sentenced to 10 years in prison and must serve 85 percent before being eligible for parole.

When he is released, he will be subject to lifetime parole supervision, has to register as a sex offender, is not allowed to have any contact with the girl, and will not be allowed to ever be involved with youth sports.

Patch has reached out to the Harrison Sparks cheerleading squad to determine if they are still actively competing and if Valerie has any involvement with the team.

The group is yet to respond to the request for information.

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