Gymnastics in the United States shaken by fresh misconduct allegations as a coach faces arrest for suspected possession of child pornography
In August 2025, Sean Gardner, a former coach at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa, was arrested by the FBI on federal child pornography charges. Gardner is alleged to have produced child pornography, secretly recorded minors in gym bathrooms in Iowa and Mississippi, and sexually abused at least three young gymnasts.
The investigation uncovered hundreds of pornographic images and videos, hidden cameras, and footage implicating Gardner in tampering with surveillance devices. He appeared in federal court on August 15, 2025, and faces up to 30 years in prison.
Despite being suspended by the U.S. Center for SafeSport in July 2022 for allegations of misconduct, the SafeSport disciplinary case against Gardner remains unresolved as of August 2025. His arrest came more than three years after his suspension, highlighting criticism of SafeSport’s ability to timely resolve such cases. Although SafeSport can ban individuals from sport participation, it does not have jurisdiction beyond sports, which allowed Gardner to work as a surgical technologist while under investigation.
Gardner was able to land a job helping care for surgical patients at an Iowa hospital in 2024, two years after the abuse allegations against him were reported to SafeSport and the police. A former Chow's Gymnastics student reported abuse allegations against Sean Gardner in April 2024 to the West Des Moines Police Department.
The FBI also found images of an adult woman secretly filmed entering and exiting a bathtub, and identified her as Gardner's ex-girlfriend.
The gym where Gardner worked from 2014 to 2018, Jump'In Gymnastics in Purvis, Mississippi, has since been closed. Gardner moved from Mississippi to Iowa in 2018 to work at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute. Liang 'Chow' Qiao, the owner of Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute, put Gardner in charge of the club's premier junior event and coached some of its most promising girls.
The FBI affidavit released in 2023 accused Gardner of using 'inappropriate spotting techniques' and asking girls if they were sexually active and calling them derogatory names. The now 18-year-old alleged that Gardner fondled her, rubbed her back and butt, discussed his sex life, made her do inappropriate stretches, and possibly filmed her with his cellphone.
SafeSport suspended Gardner in July 2022, a provisional step it can take in severe cases with 'sufficient evidentiary support' as investigations proceed. USA Gymnastics was informed by the watchdog group that Gardner was placed on its website's banned list and was suspended from all contact with gymnasts.
The teen's mother was interested in a monetary settlement with Chow's Gym because the gym 'had been made aware of the complaints and they did nothing to stop them.' Athletes in Motion in Prairieville, Louisiana, where Gardner worked from 2004 to 2014, said it had recently been notified about the investigation and was cooperating with authorities.
Gardner is being detained at the Polk County Jail in Des Moines and will be transported to Mississippi to face the charge there. His legal defense has not publicly responded as of the latest reports.
[1] https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2025/08/16/iowa-gymnastics-coach-sean-gardner-federal-child-pornography-charges-jump-in-gymnastics/20285477/ [2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/gymnastics/2025/08/17/sean-gardner-iowa-gymnastics-coach-accused-child-pornography-sexual-abuse/7337572001/ [3] https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/16/us/iowa-gymnastics-coach-arrested/index.html [4] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/iowa-gymnastics-coach-sean-gardner-arrested-federal-child-pornography-n1323125 [5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/08/16/sean-gardner-iowa-gymnastics-coach-arrested-federal-child-pornography-charges/
