Sean Gardner, a former youth gymnastics coach, was sentenced Wednesday to 90 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to three counts of producing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Kristi Johnson imposed the maximum sentence, assigning 30 years to each count.
The federal case centered on a hidden camera Gardner placed in a bathroom at a gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi. The recordings were made from December 2017 through April 2018 and captured young students, according to the source account. Investigators later found videos on Gardner’s computers depicting at least 10 minors naked or undressing.
The FBI arrested Gardner last summer. The recordings were discovered years after they were made, during an investigation prompted by claims that he had sexually abused gymnasts in Iowa. Gardner has not been charged in connection with those Iowa allegations, and authorities said they would assess how to proceed after the federal case concluded.
Former students at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa, have accused Gardner of using his coaching role to prey on them. The source says the claims were described in police reports and civil lawsuits; they are separate from the federal charges to which Gardner pleaded guilty. Gardner coached at the institute, founded by Liang “Chow” Qiao, who is known for developing Olympic-level talent.
The account also reports that Gardner was suspended in 2022 after a gymnast at Chow’s accused him of sexual abuse, and Chow later fired him. SafeSport conducted an investigation and said Chow and other coaches knew of sexual misconduct allegations against Gardner but did not report them to the organization, as its policy required.
Some women involved in the federal case have alleged that USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport were notified about Gardner’s conduct in 2017 and did not act to remove him from the sport for years. Those claims are allegations, not findings established by the sentencing described here. Lawsuits involving Gardner, USA Gymnastics and Chow’s Gymnastics remain pending.
The case has drawn attention in a sport that has faced scrutiny over athlete safety. The source cites the conviction of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting at least 265 young women and girls over 22 years, including gymnasts who competed for the United States and at the Olympics. That history provides context for concerns about safeguarding, but it does not resolve the outstanding claims in Gardner’s separate cases.
