A former gymnastics coach from a prominent gym in Iowa was arrested last week after the federal government found probable cause he produced child pornography.
Sean Gardner, who has coached at both Chow’s Gymnastics & Dance in West Des Moines and at Jump’In Gymnastics & Tumbling in Mississippi, was charged with producing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct after police found multiple hidden-camera videos of girls changing and using the bathroom at the Mississippi gym, federal documents show.
Gardner is being held in Iowa pending proceedings in the Southern District of Mississippi, the documents show. Nova Janssen, an attorney listed for Gardner, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Gardner was suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport in July 2022, according to the organization’s public disciplinary database.
“When there is a potential risk, temporary suspensions can be implemented swiftly to remove someone from sport participation while an investigation is ongoing,” SafeSport said in a statement to ESPN. “The Center takes seriously its role as a mandatory reporter of child abuse to law enforcement and provides all available information it has in these situations.”
A spokesperson for USA Gymnastics did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
According to an affidavit written by FBI agent Hillary Ladner and filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, SafeSport received two separate reports from gymnasts who said Gardner had inappropriately touched them while coaching at Chow’s.
SafeSport, a nonprofit agency tasked with policing abuse in Olympic sports, forwarded their information to West Des Moines police in May 2022. Police interviewed one of the girls, a 16-year-old, nearly two years later in April 2024, according to the affidavit.
The 16-year-old told police that she believed Gardner filmed her performing stretches he instructed her to do that exposed parts of her body. She also told police that Gardner would put his hands and fingers on her vagina while spotting her.
Agents from the West Des Moines Police Department seized digital devices during a search of Gardner’s residence in May and found multiple images of girls from about 6 to 14 years old that “appear to have come from a hidden camera next to a toilet in a commercial restroom,” according to the affidavit. Investigators confirmed with the owner of Jump’In Gymnastics and a previous girlfriend of Gardner’s that the videos came from the Mississippi gym.
Chow’s has produced several elite gymnasts, including 2008 Olympic medalist Shawn Johnson and 2012 Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas.
Calls seeking comment from Chow’s and Jump’In Gymnastics were not immediately returned.
ESPN’s Alyssa Roenigk contributed to this report.
