FBI arrest leads to maximum 90-year sentence for gymnastics coach who recorded minors at Mississippi gym

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Sean Gardner, a once prominent youth gymnastics coach, was sentenced to 90 years in prison on Wednesday after being found guilty of secretly recording young female students undressing and using the bathroom at a Mississippi gym.

Gardner’s sentence was the maximum possible span that U.S. District Judge Kristi Johnson could issue.

Gardner was ordered to serve 30 years in prison for each of the three federal child pornography production charges, which he pleaded guilty to.

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Sean Gardner, 39, was sentenced to 90 years in prison for pleading guilty to three different charges of child pornography production involving his youth female students.

The 39-year-old was arrested by the FBI last summer, which was first reported by the Associated Press. The charges against Gardner sent a shock wave through the sport, as U.S. gymnastics came under fire after another instance where its athletes were not protected enough from sexual abuse.

The most well-known case was Larry Nassar’s conviction, where he was found guilty of sexually assaulting at least 265 young women and girls during a 22-year period, which included many Olympic and U.S. women’s national gymnasts.

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In Gardner’s case, he pleaded guilty to placing a hidden camera in a bathroom at a gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi, between December 2017 and April 2018, where he would record his students.

An investigation found that Gardner created videos with close-up images of at least 10 minors naked or undressing. Investigators found the videos on his computers years later while looking into claims that he was sexually abusing gymnasts in Iowa.

Some of Gardner’s former students at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa, claimed he used his position to prey on them, citing so in police reports and civil lawsuits.

Ragan Smith competes on the balance beam during the P&G Gymnastics Championships.

Gardner was a key coach for top youth gymnasts that would frequent the institute founded by Liang “Chow” Qiao, another prominent coach known for producing Olympic talent.

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Gardner has not yet been charged in connection with the Iowa claims, though authorities noted they would be waiting for the results of the federal case before determining how to proceed.

Some of the women involved in Gardner’s federal case also argued that USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport were notified of his behavior in 2017. However, they claim the organizations failed to take action to remove him from the sport for years.

In 2022, Gardner was suspended after a gymnast at Chow’s accused him of sexual abuse. Chow later fired him.

Fred Richard trains on the horizontal bar during podium training.

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SafeSport did its own investigation at the time, noting that Chow and other coaches were made aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct against Gardner. But they failed to report them to SafeSport, which is required by policy.

Other lawsuits still remain against Gardner, USA Gymnastics and Chow’s Gymnastics.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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