Former gymnastics coach Sean Gardner sentenced to 90 years for secret recordings of minors Sean Gardner, a former youth gymnastics coach, was sentenced to 90 years in prison after pleading guilty to three federal child pornography production charges for secretly recording young female students in a Mississippi gym bathroom. Sean Gardner, a once prominent youth gymnastics coach, was sentenced on Wednesday to 90 years in prison after pleading guilty to secretly recording young female students undressing and using the bathroom at a gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi. Gardner, 39, was ordered to serve 30 years in prison for each of the three federal child pornography production charges he pleaded guilty to. The FBI arrested him last summer, a development first reported by the Associated Press. The charges against Gardner sent a shock wave through the sport of gymnastics. The case emerged as U.S. gymnastics continued to face scrutiny over whether its athletes were protected enough from sexual abuse.Larry Nassar Conviction Shook SportThe sport had already been shaken by the conviction of Larry Nassar, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting at least 265 young women and girls over a 22-year period. Many of Nassar's victims were Olympic and U.S. women's national gymnasts. In Gardner's case, he pleaded guilty to placing a hidden camera in a bathroom at the Mississippi gymnastics studio between December 2017 and April 2018. He used the camera to record his students without their knowledge.An investigation found that Gardner created videos containing close-up images of at least 10 minors who were naked or undressing. Investigators discovered the videos on his computers years later while looking into separate claims that he was sexually abusing gymnasts in Iowa. Some of Gardner's former students at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa, claimed he used his position to prey on them. The women cited their allegations in police reports and civil lawsuits.Iowa Abuse Claims InvestigationGardner was a key coach for top youth gymnasts who frequented the institute. The gym was founded by Liang Chow Qiao, a prominent coach known for producing Olympic talent. Gardner has not yet been charged in connection with the Iowa claims. Authorities noted they would wait for the results of the federal case before determining how to proceed with those allegations.Some of the women involved in Gardner's federal case also argued that USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport were notified of his behavior in 2017. They claim the organizations failed to take action to remove him from the sport for years. In 2022, Gardner was suspended after a gymnast at Chow's accused him of sexual abuse. Chow later fired him.SafeSport Investigation Fails To ReportSafeSport conducted its own investigation at the time and noted that Chow and other coaches were made aware of the sexual misconduct allegations against Gardner. However, SafeSport found that those coaches failed to report the allegations to SafeSport, which is required by policy. The failure to report allowed Gardner to remain in the sport longer than he should have. Other lawsuits related to the allegations remain pending.The federal sentence of 90 years ensures Gardner will likely spend the rest of his life in prison for his crimes against the young athletes he coached.