Ex-gymnastics coach Sean Gardner, 39, has been handed the maximum possible sentence after secretly filming young girls in studio changing rooms and toilets in Mississippi
An ex-gymnastics coach who secretly filmed young girls in changing rooms and toilets has been jailed for 90 years. Sean Gardner, 39, hid cameras inside a gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi, to record young female students without their knowledge.
He was handed the maximum possible punishment by US District Judge Kristi Johnson, who ordered him to serve three consecutive 30-year sentences after he admitted three federal child pornography production charges. The lengthy term effectively guarantees Gardner will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The sickening voyeurism came to light when FBI investigators seized Gardner’s computer equipment as part of a probe into separate sexual abuse allegations in Iowa.
Officers uncovered close-up footage of at least ten young minors naked or undressing, recorded between December 2017 and April 2018.
Gardner was once an influential figure in the sport, having previously worked as a coach and event director at the prestigious Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa – a facility set up by legendary Olympic coach Liang “Chow” Qiao.
Several former students from the Iowa gym have since come forward to police and filed civil lawsuits, alleging the coach used his position to prey on them.
While police delayed decisions on potential charges in Iowa until the federal court case wrapped up, the civil claims have sparked severe scrutiny over gymnastics authorities in the US.
Legal filings allege oversight bodies USA Gymnastics and the US Centre for SafeSport were alerted to Gardner’s inappropriate behaviour as far back as 2017, but failed to kick him out of the sport for years.
SafeSport eventually suspended Gardner in 2022 after a fresh sexual abuse allegation emerged, prompting Chow’s Gymnastics to fire him.
Investigation records later revealed founder Chow and other senior coaches were aware of sexual misconduct claims against Gardner, but breached official policies by failing to report them.