Ex-coach At Renowned Us Gymnastics Academy Arrested On Child Sexual Abuse Images Charge

The US gymnastics world was only conscionable recovering from a devastating intersexual maltreatment ungraded erstwhile a promising young coach moved from Mississippi to Iowa to return a occupation successful 2018 astatine an elite academy known for training Olympic champions.

Liang “Chow” Qiao, nan proprietor of Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute successful West Des Moines, thought highly capable of his caller hire, Sean Gardner, to put him successful complaint of nan club’s premier inferior arena and to coach immoderate of its astir promising girls.

But 4 years later, Gardner was gone from Chow’s pinch small notice.

USA Gymnastics, nan statement rocked by nan Larry Nassar sex-abuse situation that led to nan creation of nan US Center for SafeSport, had been informed by nan watchdog group that Gardner was suspended from each interaction pinch gymnasts.

The logic for Gardner’s removal wasn’t disclosed. But tribunal records obtained exclusively by nan Associated Press show nan coach was accused of sexually abusing astatine slightest 3 young gymnasts astatine Chow’s and secretly signaling others undressing successful a gym bath astatine his anterior occupation successful Mississippi.

Last week, much than 3 years aft being suspended from coaching, nan FBI arrested Gardner, 38, connected a national kid intersexual maltreatment images charge. But his disciplinary lawsuit has still not been resolved by SafeSport, which handles sex-abuse cases successful Olympic sports.

In cases for illustration Gardner’s, nan nationalist tin beryllium successful nan acheronian for years while SafeSport investigates and sanctions coaches. SafeSport requires that allegations beryllium reported to constabulary to guarantee abusers don’t tally unchecked extracurricular of sports, but critics opportunity nan strategy is simply a slow, murky process.

“From an outward operational view, it seems that if SafeSport is progressive successful immoderate way, nan business turns glow-in-the-dark toxic,” said lawyer Steve Silvey, a longtime SafeSport professional who has represented group successful cases involving nan center.

While acknowledging location tin beryllium delays arsenic its investigations unfold, SafeSport defended its impermanent suspensions successful a connection arsenic “a unsocial and valuable intervention” erstwhile location are concerns of a consequence to others.

Nevertheless, successful 2024, Gardner was capable to onshore a occupation helping attraction for surgical patients astatine an Iowa infirmary – 2 years aft nan maltreatment allegations against him were reported to SafeSport and nan police.

And it was not until precocious May that West Des Moines constabulary executed a hunt warrant astatine his home, yet starring to nan betterment of a trove of photos and videos connected his machine and cellphone of nude young girls, tribunal records show.

Authorities successful Iowa sealed nan tribunal documents aft nan AP asked astir nan investigation earlier this month, earlier specifications of nan national complaint were made nationalist Friday. Gardner, Qiao and Gardner’s erstwhile employer successful Mississippi did not respond to AP requests for comment.

Chow’s Gymnastics is champion known arsenic nan academy wherever US gymnasts Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas trained earlier becoming golden medalists astatine nan 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Qiao opened nan gym successful 1998 aft starring connected nan Chinese nationalist squad and moving to nan United States to coach astatine nan University of Iowa. The gym became a tie for apical younker gymnasts, pinch immoderate families moving to Iowa to train there.

Gardner moved to Iowa successful September 2018, jumping astatine nan opportunity to coach nether Qiao.

“This is nan occupation that I’ve ever wanted. Chow is really personification I person looked up to since I’ve been coaching,” Gardner told nan ABC connection WOI-TV successful 2019. “And you tin show erstwhile you measurement ft successful nan gym, conscionable moreover from coaching nan girls, nan civilization that he’s built. It’s amazing. It’s beautiful.”

A twelvemonth later, Gardner was promoted to head of Chow’s Winter Classic, an yearly meet that draws much than 1,000 gymnasts to Iowa. He besides coached a inferior Olympics squad during his four-year tenure astatine Chow’s.

Several of his students earned assemblage gymnastics scholarships, but Gardner said he had bigger goals.

“You want to time off a thumbprint connected their life, truthful erstwhile they spell disconnected hopefully to school, to bigger and amended things, that they retrieve Chow’s arsenic family,” he said successful a 2020 question and reply pinch WOI-TV.

Gardner is accused of abusing his position astatine Chow’s and his erstwhile occupation astatine Jump’In Gymnastics successful Mississippi to prey connected girls nether his tutelage, according to a nine-page FBI affidavit released Friday that summarizes nan allegations against him.

A woman reported to SafeSport successful March 2022 that Gardner utilized “inappropriate spotting techniques” successful which he would put his hands betwixt her legs and touch her vagina, nan affidavit said.

It said she alleged Gardner would inquire girls if they were sexually progressive and telephone them “idiots, sluts, and whores.” She said this behaviour began aft his hiring successful 2018 and continued until she near nan gym successful 2020 and provided nan names of six different imaginable victims.

SafeSport suspended Gardner successful July 2022 – 4 months aft nan girl’s study – a provisional measurement it tin return successful terrible cases pinch “sufficient evidentiary support” arsenic investigations proceed.

A period aft that, nan halfway received a study from different woman alleging further “sexual interaction and beingness abuse,” including that Gardner likewise fondled her during workouts, nan FBI affidavit said. The woman said that he erstwhile dragged her crossed nan carpet truthful difficult that it burned her buttocks, nan affidavit said.

SafeSport shared nan reports pinch West Des Moines police, successful statement pinch its argumentation requiring adults who interact pinch younker athletes to disclose imaginable criminal cases to rule enforcement.

While SafeSport’s suspension took Gardner retired of gymnastics, nan criminal investigation quickly deed a roadblock.

Police records show a detective told SafeSport to impulse nan alleged victims to record criminal complaints, but only 1 of their mothers contacted constabulary successful 2022. That female said her girl did not want to prosecute criminal charges, and constabulary suspended nan investigation.

Victims of maltreatment are often reluctant to cooperate pinch police, said Ken Lang, a retired detective and subordinate professor of criminal justness astatine Milligan University.

“In this lawsuit you person nan prestige of this facility,” he said. “Do they want to subordinate their sanction pinch that, successful that way, erstwhile their aspirations were to win successful gymnastics?”

Police suspended nan investigation, moreover arsenic Gardner was connected probation for his second-offense of driving while intoxicated.

The lawsuit stayed dormant until April 2024 erstwhile different erstwhile Chow’s student came guardant to nan West Des Moines Police Department to study maltreatment allegations, according to a now-sealed affidavit signed by constabulary detective Jeff Lyon. The AP is not identifying nan student successful statement pinch its argumentation of not naming victims of alleged intersexual abuse.

The now 18-year-old told constabulary she began taking lessons from Gardner erstwhile she was 11 aliases 12 successful 2019, initially seeing him arsenic a “father figure” who tried to thief her get done her parents’ divorce. He told her she could show him “anything,” nan affidavit said.

When she moved successful 2021, she told police, he gave her a hug and said she could matter and travel him connected Instagram and different societal media sites, wherever he went by nan nickname “Coach Seanie,” because gym argumentation barring specified interaction nary longer applied.

According to a summary of her connection provided successful Lyon’s affidavit, she said Gardner fondled her during exercises, many times rubbing her vagina; rubbed her backmost and butt and discussed his activity life; and made her do inappropriate stretches that exposed her privates.

She told constabulary she suspected he utilized his cellphone to movie her successful that position.

Reached by nan AP, nan teen’s mother declined comment. The mother told constabulary she was willing successful a monetary colony pinch Chow’s because nan gym “had been made alert of nan complaints and they did thing to extremity them,” according to Lyon’s affidavit. The gym didn’t return AP messages seeking comment.

It took 16 months aft nan teen’s 2024 study for nan FBI to apprehension Gardner, who made an first tribunal quality successful Des Moines connected Friday connected a complaint of producing ocular depictions of minors engaging successful sexually definitive conduct, which tin transportation up to 30 years successful prison. A nationalist defender assigned to correspond him didn’t return AP messages seeking comment.

It’s unclear why nan lawsuit took truthful agelong to analyse and besides erstwhile nan FBI, which had to salary $138m to Nassar’s victims for botching that investigation, sewage progressive successful nan case.

Among grounds seized by investigators successful precocious May were a cellphone, laptop and a desktop machine on pinch handwritten notes betwixt Gardner and his erstwhile pupils, according to nan sealed tribunal documents.

They recovered images of girls, astir 6 to 14 years successful age, who were nude, utilizing nan toilet aliases changing into leotards, those documents show. Those images look to person travel from a hidden camera successful a restroom.

They besides uncovered 50 video files and 400 photos, including immoderate that appeared to beryllium kid intersexual maltreatment images, according to nan FBI affidavit. One video allegedly shows Gardner entering nan bath and turning disconnected nan camera.

Investigators besides recovered images of an big female secretly filmed entering and exiting a bathtub, and identified her arsenic Gardner’s ex-girlfriend. That female arsenic good arsenic nan gym’s owner, Candi Workman, told investigators nan images appeared to travel from Jump’In Gymnastics’ installation successful Purvis, Mississippi, which has since been closed.

SafeSport has agelong touted that it tin present sanctions successful cases wherever criminal charges are not pursued arsenic cardinal to its mission. However, Gardner’s expertise to onshore a occupation successful wellness attraction illustrates nan limits of that power: It tin prohibition group from sports but that punishment is not guaranteed to scope nan wide public.

While not commenting astir Gardner’s lawsuit directly, it said successful a connection provided to AP that a number of issues facet into why cases tin return truthful agelong to close, including nan 8,000 reports it receives a twelvemonth pinch only astir 30 full-time investigators. It has revamped immoderate procedures, it said, successful an effort to go much efficient.

“While nan Center is capable and often does cooperate successful rule enforcement investigations,” it said, “law enforcement is not required to stock information, updates, aliases moreover corroborate an investigation is ongoing.”

USA Gymnastics President Li Li Leung called nan center’s task “really tough, difficult to navigate.”

“I would for illustration to spot much consistency pinch their outcomes and sanctions,” Leung said. “I would for illustration to spot much standardization connected things. I would for illustration to spot much communication, much transparency from their side.”

As nan investigation proceeded, Gardner said connected his Facebook page he had landed a caller occupation successful May 2024 arsenic a surgical technologist astatine MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center. It’s a domiciled that calls for positioning patients connected nan operating room table, and assisting pinch procedures and post-surgery care.

Asked astir Gardner’s employment, infirmary spokesperson Todd Mizener told nan AP: “The only accusation I tin supply is that he is nary longer” astatine nan hospital.

Meanwhile, nan lawsuit lingers, leaving lives successful limbo much than 3 years aft nan SafeSport Center and constabulary first learned of it.

“SafeSport is now portion of a larger problem alternatively than a solution, if it was ever a solution,” said lawyer Silvey. “The astir basal master task specified arsenic coordination pinch section aliases national rule enforcement gets botched connected a regular basis, hundreds of times a twelvemonth now.”