Gymnastics Coach Pleads Guilty to Disturbing Child Exploitation Charges Amid New Allegations

Sean Gardner, a gymnastics coach who once trained elite young girls, is now facing the music after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of children in federal court in Mississippi. The 15 to 30 years he could serve per count is just the tip of the iceberg in a case that has sent shockwaves through the gymnastics community.

The allegations are nothing short of horrifying. Gardner reportedly set up a hidden camera in a girls' bathroom at a Purvis, Mississippi gymnastics facility, capturing young girls aged 6 to 14 undressing and changing into their leotards between 2017 and 2018. Investigators seized around 50 videos and 400 photos from his home, with one video allegedly showing Gardner turning off the camera. This isn't just a scandal; it's a nightmare.

But wait, there's more. The Gardner case is raising alarms as it echoes the infamous Larry Nassar scandal, which rocked USA Gymnastics to its core. After Nassar—who was convicted of molesting numerous young gymnasts—USA Gymnastics vowed to overhaul its safety protocols. Yet, a CBS News investigation reveals that concerns about Gardner were flagged as early as 2018 by the mother of a young competitor. Despite this, he managed to transition from his Mississippi gym to Chow's Gymnastics & Dance in Iowa, a prestigious training center that boasts Olympic champions Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas among its alumni. Now, Gardner stands accused of abusing at least five young gymnasts at Chow's.

"Had they done any kind of even surface investigation, they would have found this plethora of abuse that's sitting there," said attorney John Manly, who has represented over 180 plaintiffs in lawsuits against Nassar.

Manly is now representing Finley Weldon, an 18-year-old gymnast suing both Chow's and Gardner. "Finley should have never laid eyes on him. He should never have been in a gym," he stated emphatically.

Reflecting on the brave gymnasts who spoke out during the Nassar case, Weldon lamented, "They were brave and they spoke out so this wouldn't happen again. And it happened again." The cycle of abuse continues, and the system seems to be failing once more.

Neither Gardner nor his attorney responded to requests for comment, nor did the owners of Chow's or their legal representatives, who have denied all allegations in court. USA Gymnastics issued a statement acknowledging the seriousness of the case but refrained from further comment due to ongoing legal matters.

Liberty Raines was just 11 when she joined Jump'In Gymnastics in Purvis, Mississippi, dreaming of becoming a college gymnast under Gardner's guidance. "There were just a lot of girls that he produced to be good gymnasts," Raines recalled. "He was highly looked up to and respected."

Raines described Gardner as charismatic, noting that she was too young to recognize his behavior as inappropriate. "Each of us would line up to get a hug, and he would kiss us on our forehead and pat us each on the butt," she recounted. "It was so normalized; I don't think any of us thought anything of it." But soon, things escalated. Raines reported that Gardner began touching her during practice while spotting her on the bars—an experience she was too young to process or speak up about.

At the same time, another mother raised alarms about Gardner's "very long, front-facing, two-armed hugs with long kisses on the forehead." Even Gardner's boss in Mississippi claimed she alerted USA Gymnastics about his "grooming behavior" back in January 2018. Yet, despite these warnings, Gardner moved from Mississippi to Chow's Gymnastics later that year.

It wasn't until the FBI approached Raines during their investigation into Gardner that she learned about the hidden camera recordings. "They had a picture of me. It was very traumatic and scary for me," she said.

At Chow's, Gardner positioned himself as a coach for Olympic hopefuls and began working with Finley Weldon, an 11-year-old gymnast with dreams of Olympic glory herself. Weldon described Gardner's behavior as "weird," noting inappropriate jokes and invasive questions about teen girls' sex lives. "I knew something was not really right about him," she said.

Weldon also recounted instances where Gardner touched her inappropriately while she was stretching or being spotted during training. "You don't need to do that to spot somebody," she asserted.

Manly emphasized that the initial concerns raised in Mississippi should have triggered a thorough investigation by USA Gymnastics. Instead, Gardner slipped through the cracks and moved to Iowa, where he now faces lawsuits from Weldon and at least four other gymnasts alleging abuse.

After the Nassar scandal, Congress passed the Safe Sport Authorization Act in February 2018, granting the U.S. Center for SafeSport authority to investigate misconduct allegations. However, SafeSport did not receive any reports against Gardner until 2022. Once they did, they issued a suspension that removed him from coaching duties.

The FBI arrested Gardner in August 2025 after searching his Iowa apartment and uncovering evidence of the hidden camera recordings from the Mississippi gym bathroom.

Weldon left Chow's after voicing her concerns about Gardner but continued her gymnastics journey elsewhere. This year, she competed as a freshman on the Iowa State University gymnastics team. "I think my passion and love for gymnastics shined way brighter than him doing what he did," she reflected.

In March, after Iowa State announced it would discontinue its gymnastics program, Weldon entered the NCAA transfer portal, hoping to join another collegiate gymnastics team soon.