Gym Owner Says She Reported Grooming Concerns About Coach Years Before Arrest In Sex Abuse Case

Long earlier his banishment from gymnastics and apprehension aft accusations he abused girls he coached, informing signs astir Sean Gardner were coming from respective directions – his erstwhile boss, his gymnasts and their parents.

The erstwhile leader says she brought her concerns astir Gardner’s “grooming” behaviour to USA Gymnastics, nan sport’s nationalist governing body. The parents and girls described telling coaches of inappropriate behaviour astatine Gardner’s caller job, an academy that produced Olympians and is owned by renowned coach Liang “Chow” Qiao.

Yet Qiao not only kept Gardner connected nan occupation – he promoted him.

Associated Press interviews pinch 4 parents whose daughters trained nether Gardner and a missive obtained by nan AP from Gardner’s erstwhile employer to clients astatine her gym revealed that concerns astir nan coach were reported to gymnastics authorities arsenic acold backmost arsenic 2018 – 4 years earlier he was kicked retired of nan sport.

One woman told Qiao during a gathering successful 2020 that she had been touched inappropriately by Gardner during training but Qiao said immoderate specified interaction was inadvertent and intended to prevention athletes from injury, a genitor told AP.

“She felt wholly invalidated,” nan genitor said of nan consequence from Qiao, who built his estimation coaching Olympic golden medalists Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas and China’s women’s nationalist team.

The watchdog responsible for investigating wrongdoing successful Olympic sports confirmed to AP that Qiao and respective different coaches were privately sanctioned for failing to study intersexual misconduct allegations against Gardner aft learning astir them.

Qiao did not return AP emails and telephone messages seeking comment. Gardner, 38, has been jailed since his Aug. 14 apprehension pending national tribunal proceedings successful Mississippi. He hasn’t entered a plea, and tribunal records don’t bespeak if he has a lawyer. He did not return AP messages seeking remark earlier his arrest.

One genitor recalled attending a 2019 gathering pinch nan parents of 2 different girls pinch Qiao to talk their daughters’ concerns, including that Gardner was making them uncomfortable successful nan measurement he touched them while spotting and by talking astir inappropriate subjects.

The parent, for illustration nan others, said to AP connected information of anonymity to protect their daughters. The AP mostly does not place intersexual maltreatment victims.

The gathering came much than a twelvemonth aft Gardner’s erstwhile employer astatine a gym successful Purvis, Mississippi, Candi Workman, said she discussed concerns pinch a USA Gymnastics lawyer astir “troubling behavior” involving Gardner’s “coaching and grooming behavior.”

Gardner was removed from nan athletics successful July 2022 aft nan US Center for SafeSport received a intersexual maltreatment title and issued a impermanent prohibition – a move it called “the only logic Gardner was barred from coaching young athletes” until his arrest.

The halfway forwarded that accusation to Iowa police, and it was different 3 years earlier nan FBI arrested Gardner connected charges of kid intersexual exploitation. Among nan astir damning grounds were allegations that he installed a hidden camera successful nan bath of nan Mississippi gym to grounds girls arsenic young arsenic 6 undressing.

Gardner’s emergence and nan sport’s inability to guidelines him retired came moreover arsenic news of Larry Nassar’s decades-long intersexual maltreatment of gymnasts was successful nan headlines and gyms were implementing safeguards to amended protect athletes. It was nan inability of USA Gymnastics and nan US Olympic Committee to constabulary predators, on pinch inaction by nan FBI aft learning of nan abuse, that led to SafeSport’s founding successful 2017.

“This is nan aforesaid type of behaviour wherever girls aren’t believed. They are formed aside. They are tamped down,” said Megan Bonanni, a lawyer who helped unafraid a $138.7m colony for Nassar’s victims complete nan FBI’s failures.

“What we’re seeing pinch Gardner, it’s aggregate institutions failing to enactment pinch nan urgency that kid information demands. ... Local police, SafeSport, USA Gymnastics and this gym. All of them.”

In her first comments connected nan case, Workman, nan Mississippi gym owner, told gymnasts and their parents successful a caller missive that she reported “troubling behavior” by Gardner to then-USA Gymnastics lawyer Mark Busby successful January 2018.

Workman wrote that her concerns were related to “grooming,” which USA Gymnastics defines arsenic a process wherever a personification builds spot and affectional connections pinch a kid for nan intent of sexually abusing them.

Workman did not elaborate connected what she reported and hasn’t returned messages from AP seeking comment. Busby, whose occupation astatine nan clip related to jock information and is now successful backstage practice, declined to remark erstwhile reached by AP.

The SafeSport halfway said it was notified by USA Gymnastics successful January 2018 that 1 of its affiliated gyms had resolved a study involving Gardner. But nan halfway said it didn’t analyse further because nan study was not related to intersexual misconduct and it did not person elaborate information.

Despite that, Gardner was capable to time off Mississippi for a amended occupation successful different USA Gymnastics-affiliated installation – Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute, nan West Des Moines, Iowa, gym that had go a mecca for apical gymnasts.

Chow’s Gymnastics said Gardner passed a modular USA Gymnastics inheritance cheque erstwhile he was hired successful 2018.

Concerns astir his behaviour successful nan gym began soon after, yet Gardner was consistently fixed much responsibility. Girls successful 1 training group pushed for different adults to intervene, which resulted successful nan 2019 gathering betwixt parents and Qiao.

But not agelong aft that meeting, Chow’s Gymnastics promoted Gardner successful January 2020 to caput coach of a cardinal girls’ team, telling parents successful an email obtained by AP: “He has demonstrated nan activity and put bully effort to do his occupation well.” Gardner was besides head of nan Chow’s Winter Classic, a meet that draws hundreds of gymnasts to Iowa each year.

Chow’s Gymnastics kept Gardner connected nan payroll aft he was arrested successful August 2021 for second-offense drunken driving, a clang successful which he ran different car disconnected nan roadworthy and his humor intoxicant contented recorded much than 3 times nan ineligible limit for driving. Gardner was sentenced to a week successful jailhouse and 2 years of probation.

In a statement, Chow’s Gymnastics said it acted “promptly, responsibly and successful afloat compliance” aft it received announcement successful April 2022 that Gardner was to beryllium barred from one-on-one aliases unsupervised interaction pinch athletes while SafeSport investigated unspecified misconduct.

Chow’s Gymnastics said that it enforced those measures and removed Gardner arsenic caput coach. The gym said it fired Gardner successful July 2022 aft SafeSport strengthened Gardner’s restrictions to a impermanent suspension from coaching and each interaction pinch athletes.

“Although location had been nary uncovering of misconduct astatine that time, Chow’s Gymnastics chose to err connected nan broadside of protecting its athletes,” nan connection said.

SafeSport said nan sanctions successful 2022 against Qiao and nan different coaches who grounded to study intersexual misconduct allegations included warnings, required education, probation, and suspension successful 1 case.

The halfway does not usually remark astir circumstantial cases but said successful a connection to AP that it has “the expertise to correct nan grounds successful ray of nan caller nationalist missive issued by Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute.”

The gym’s connection infuriated immoderate parents and erstwhile Chow’s pupils who said concerns astir Gardner had been wide known. Several of Gardner’s students near nan gym opening successful 2019 successful what parents called a wide exodus.

The parents of 1 gymnast recalled witnessing Gardner touch different girl’s hips while opinionated down her during practice. Gardner told nan parents that his manus slipped by accident, and nan begetter recalled informing Gardner that location “would beryllium nary accidents pinch my daughter.”

When that woman yet discontinue nan gym owed successful portion to Gardner’s conduct, nan begetter recalled restraining himself erstwhile Gardner came retired to nan parking batch to opportunity he was sorry.

Bonanni, nan lawyer for survivors of Nassar’s abuse, said she is troubled by nan slow consequence successful nan Gardner lawsuit and expects much victims to travel forward.

“The harm caused by this benignant of maltreatment is permanent, and it’s really long-lasting,” she said. “It changes nan trajectory of a young person’s life.”