PSU coach arrested on sex charge

The coach and instructor of the Portland State cheerleading squad was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor at a Vancouver, Wash., courtroom Wednesday morning.

Portland State suspended Neil A. Finger, 28, from his position as the instructor of the PSU cheerleading squad without pay because of the pending litigation against him, said university administrators. Finger will appear in the Vancouver court again on Oct. 9.

Finger, who owns a business called the Vancouver Cheer Academy, was arrested in Vancouver Tuesday night because the parents of one of his students at the academy told police that they believed Finger had sex with their 17-year-old daughter after reading her diary, The Oregonian reported Wednesday.

Finger was hired by Portland State as a “wage agreement” employee–otherwise known as a temporary employee–in mid-August, said Torre Chisholm, the PSU director of athletics.

When Finger was hired, Portland State never performed a background check on him because of his temporary position. Lindsay Desrochers, vice president of Finance and Administration at PSU, said that the university normally does not perform background checks on these types of temporary employees because there are so few of them.

Last night, the athletic department met with the members of the cheerleading team–16 women and six men, according to The Oregonian–to discuss the situation.

Finger was paid hourly, said Chisholm, and his $7,188.97 salary is paid for entirely by student fees through the Student Fee Committee (SFC). The SFC allocates over $12 million in student fees each year to more than 100 student groups, including athletics and The Vanguard. Chisholm, who started as the athletic director last spring, said he does not know who was the cheer coach before Finger.

Desrochers said that Finger’s contract with the university deems him the cheer team “instructor,” not coach. His position, however, is listed as “cheer coach” on the SFC online budgeting system, which also lists how his position is funded.

The victim had sex with Finger twice since May, according to court documents reported on and obtained by The Oregonian. Finger was released Wednesday morning after he paid his $10,000 bail during his court appearance.

Chisholm and Desrochers said they will decide what will happen with Finger after the litigation is resolved. “We need to wait and find out what happens with his legal issue,” Chisholm said.