A former Iowa gymnastics coach, once accused of multiple sexual assaults, has been arrested after investigators uncovered hundreds of disturbing child pornography images — many of which authorities say he created himself.
Sean Gardner, 38, was taken into custody last week and appeared in court on Friday, Aug. 15, according to the Associated Press. Federal investigators allege that Gardner secretly recorded young girls, some as young as six, using a hidden camera placed in a gym bathroom where he worked. The FBI also reportedly recovered hundreds of explicit images from his home.
Gardner, once a respected coach at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines — a gym known for training Olympic champions like Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas — has a long history of allegations. In 2022, SafeSport, the organization overseeing sexual abuse prevention in U.S. gymnastics, suspended Gardner after a young athlete accused him of using “inappropriate spotting techniques” to touch her in a sexual manner. That athlete also provided the names of at least six other girls she said were abused by Gardner.
In the years since, two more former students accused him of sexual abuse, including allegations that he required stretches exposing their genitals, groped them during exercises, and even discussed his sex life with them.
FBI documents also tie Gardner to hidden-camera videos from his previous coaching job at Jump’In Gymnastics in Purvis, Mississippi, before he relocated to Iowa and rose to oversee the junior Olympics team at Chow’s. He even became director of an annual gymnastics event that attracted more than 1,000 athletes.
Despite his 2022 suspension, Gardner later secured a job as a surgical technologist at MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center, but the hospital confirmed he’s no longer employed there following his arrest.
Gardner now faces a federal charge of producing child pornography, which carries a possible sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit rainn.org for confidential help.
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