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Image: U.S. Center for SafeSport logo. Credit: U.S. Center for SafeSport website. Used for editorial reporting and commentary.
A former youth gymnastics coach has been sentenced to 90 years in federal prison for secretly recording young female athletes undressing and using the bathroom at a Mississippi gym.
Sean Gardner, 39, received three consecutive 30-year sentences after pleading guilty to three federal charges of producing child sexual abuse material. U.S. District Judge Kristi Johnson imposed the maximum sentence allowed on each count, AP News reported.
Hidden Camera Recorded at Least 10 Minors
Gardner admitted placing a hidden camera in a bathroom at a gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi, between December 2017 and April 2018.
Investigators said the recordings included close-up images of at least 10 minors who were naked, undressing or using the bathroom. Federal agents later recovered about 50 videos and 400 photographs from Gardner’s residence, according to CBS News.
The recordings were discovered years later while authorities were investigating separate allegations that Gardner sexually abused gymnasts in Iowa.
Gardner Later Coached at Prominent Iowa Gym
Gardner moved to Iowa in 2018 and worked at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, a well-known training facility founded by Olympic coach Liang “Chow” Qiao.
Several former athletes have since accused Gardner in police reports and civil lawsuits of sexually abusing them while he coached there. Court records indicate that at least three young gymnasts made sexual abuse allegations involving Gardner before he left the gym in 2022, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Gardner has not been criminally charged in connection with the Iowa allegations.
Lawsuits Also Question Oversight by USA Gymnastics and SafeSport
The sentencing has also renewed scrutiny of how youth sports organizations respond to reports of inappropriate behavior by coaches.
Civil lawsuits filed by former gymnasts allege that USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport received warnings about Gardner’s behavior as early as 2017 but failed to remove him from the sport for years.
SafeSport temporarily suspended Gardner in 2022 after another athlete reported alleged sexual abuse. SafeSport has said its investigation found that other coaches had been aware of misconduct allegations but failed to report them as required, CBS News said.
A federal judge dismissed SafeSport from two of the civil cases earlier this year after finding that the organization was entitled to immunity under federal law. Other claims against Gardner and Chow’s Gymnastics remain pending.
