A federal judge in Mississippi sentenced former youth gymnastics coach Sean Gardner to 90 years in prison Wednesday, October 14, for secretly recording young female students undressing at a gym in Purvis, Mississippi, closing one chapter of a case that also involves abuse allegations at a well-known West Des Moines gym.
U.S. District Judge Kristi Johnson handed down the maximum sentence available, ordering Gardner, 39, to serve 30 years on each of three federal child pornography production charges. He pleaded guilty to those charges. The sentence likely means Gardner will die in prison, according to the Associated Press.
How the Case Began
Gardner pleaded guilty to placing a hidden camera in a bathroom at a gymnastics studio in Purvis between December 2017 and April 2018. Investigators say the recordings showed close-up images of at least 10 minors who were naked or undressing. The videos were recovered from Gardner's computers years later, while the FBI was investigating claims that he sexually abused gymnasts in Iowa.
An FBI affidavit shows investigators seized roughly 50 videos and 400 photos from Gardner's residence. In one of the videos, Gardner is allegedly seen turning the camera off himself.
The Iowa Connection: Chow's Gymnastics in West Des Moines
The federal investigation that led to Wednesday's sentence grew out of allegations in Iowa. Several of Gardner's former students at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines have told police, and alleged in civil lawsuits, that he used his coaching position to prey on them.
The institute was founded by Liang 'Chow' Qiao, a prominent coach known for producing Olympic champions. Gardner coached several youth prospects there and served as director of an annual winter meet that drew hundreds of gymnasts to Iowa.
Gardner has not been charged in connection with the Iowa allegations. Police have said they would wait to decide how to proceed until the federal case concluded, a point that now takes on fresh urgency for local investigators.
What His Former Gymnasts Say
One of Gardner's former Mississippi students, Liberty Raines, told CBS News in May 2026 that she was 11 when she joined Jump'In Gymnastics in Purvis and that Gardner's behavior was normalized for girls too young to recognize it as abnormal.
'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,' Raines said. 'It was so normalized. I don't think any of us thought anything of it.'
After moving to Iowa in 2018, Gardner began coaching Finley Weldon, then a skilled 11-year-old gymnast with Olympic aspirations. Weldon told CBS News last year that Gardner acted 'weird' from the start, making inappropriate jokes and asking teenage girls about their sex lives.
'I knew something was not really right about him,' Weldon said. She said Gardner touched her inappropriately while she stretched and while he spotted her during training.
Did USA Gymnastics and SafeSport Fail These Families?
The civil lawsuits against Gardner argue the sport's oversight bodies were warned and did nothing. According to CBS News, USA Gymnastics received an email from the mother of a young Mississippi gymnast raising concerns about Gardner's behavior. Separately, Gardner's boss in Mississippi said in an email that she told USA Gymnastics about his 'grooming behavior' in January 2018.
Despite those warnings, Gardner moved to Chow's gym in Iowa later that same year. The lawsuits allege USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport were told of inappropriate behavior as early as 2017 but failed to remove him from the sport for years.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport temporarily suspended Gardner only in 2022, after a Chow's gymnast alleged sexual abuse. Chow's fired him at that time. SafeSport has said its investigation found that Chow and other coaches had been aware of allegations of sexual misconduct against Gardner but failed to report them to the center, as the center's policy requires.
For Iowa parents, that timeline raises hard questions. Warnings surfaced in 2017 and early 2018, yet Gardner was coaching children in West Des Moines by the end of 2018. The people who raised alarms were parents and a local gym supervisor, not the national bodies charged with athlete safety.
What Happens Next
Gardner's federal sentence ends the child pornography case, but the Iowa allegations remain unresolved. Local police have signaled they will now weigh whether to bring charges, and the civil lawsuits against Gardner, USA Gymnastics, SafeSport, and others are still working through the courts.
Wednesday's sentence of 90 years sends the strongest possible message from the federal bench. Whether the institutions that families trusted to protect their daughters face the same level of accountability is the question Iowa families will be watching next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sean Gardner?
Sean Gardner, 39, is a former youth gymnastics coach who worked in Purvis, Mississippi, and later at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa. He pleaded guilty to three federal child pornography production charges for secretly recording students.
Why was Sean Gardner sentenced to 90 years in prison?
U.S. District Judge Kristi Johnson imposed the maximum sentence on October 14, 2026: 30 years for each of the three child pornography production charges he pleaded guilty to, to be served consecutively.
Was Sean Gardner charged for the Iowa allegations?
No. Gardner has not been charged in connection with the Iowa abuse allegations. Police said they would decide how to proceed after the federal case concluded, which it now has.
What did USA Gymnastics and SafeSport know?
According to CBS News reporting and civil lawsuits, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport were warned about Gardner's behavior in 2017 and 2018 but did not remove him from the sport. SafeSport suspended him in 2022 and said Chow and other coaches knew of misconduct allegations but failed to report them.