Sean Gardner, 39, has been jailed for 90 years for secretly filming young girls in changing rooms and toilets at a gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi. US District Judge Kristi Johnson handed down the maximum possible punishment, ordering three consecutive 30-year terms after Gardner admitted three federal child pornography production charges. The sentence effectively guarantees the former coach will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Investigation uncovered hidden cameras
The case came to light when FBI investigators seized Gardner's computer equipment during a probe into separate sexual abuse allegations in Iowa. Officers found 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 worked as a coach and event director at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa, a facility founded by Olympic coach Liang "Chow" Qiao.
Civil claims and oversight scrutiny
Several former students from the Iowa gym have since come forward to police and filed civil lawsuits, alleging Gardner used his position to prey on them. While police delayed decisions on potential charges in Iowa until the federal court case concluded, the civil claims have drawn 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 remove him from 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.
