A former gymnastics coach accused of abusing students at a West Des Moines gym intends to plead guilty to child pornography charges in Mississippi, court filings show.
Sean Gardner was arrested in August 2025 on charges that he used a hidden camera to record underage gymnasts changing at a gym where he worked in Purvis, Mississippi.
Gardner subsequently worked from 2018 to 2022 at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, a program famed for training several gold-medal Olympians, He faces at least five lawsuits accusing him of grooming and inappropriately touching female students there.
Federal prosecutors had indicted Gardner on 10 counts of producing child pornography linked to Purvis. He intends to plead guilty to three of the charges, a notice his attorney filed Tuesday, April 21, indicates. The filing does not say whether prosecutors intend to dismiss the remaining seven charges as part of a plea deal and Gardner’s criminal defense attorney did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Iowa claims include inappropriate touching, questions, photos
According to court filings, Gardner was suspended from coaching in 2022 after an underage student at Chow’s Gym reported he would place his hands on and rub inappropriate places while helping young female gymnasts learn routines. The student said he also would ask them if they were sexually active and use sexually degrading language.
While the student reportedly declined to pursue charges, West Des Moines police obtained warrants for Gardner’s electronic devices in 2024 after a second student reported the coach had taken photographs of students in compromising positions. The resulting search turned up hundreds of images Gardner allegedly took at the gym in Mississippi.
Although the investigation began in Iowa, no charges have been filed in connection with the allegations from Gardner’s time at Chow’s. Sgt. Dan Wade, West Des Moines police spokesperson, confirmed the department’s investigation into Gardner remains open.
In the meantime, multiple former Chow’s students have filed lawsuits against Gardner, the gym, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for SafeSport, among others. SafeSport was founded after widespread revelations in 2017 of sexual assault by Larry Nassar, team doctor for USA Gymnastics, the sport’s governing organization. The organization is responsible for preventing abuse and responding to allegations of it in multiple sports.
Plaintiff attorneys respond to upcoming plea
Courtney Kiehl, a California attorney representing three former Chow’s students, praised those who have come forward and the efforts of law enforcement in pushing toward a conviction.
“Sean Gardner’s guilty plea represents an important step toward justice and accountability,” Kiehl said. “It validates what our clients have experienced and what others have reported. This resolution demonstrates that perpetrators can and will be held accountable for their actions.”
California attorney John Manly, representing two other student plaintiffs, said he hopes the planned guilty plea is only the beginning of accountability.
“It’s good that he’s facing justice for what happened in Mississippi, but what happened in Des Moines is far worse,” Manly said. “So often in these cases, like Nassar, the only one who faces accountability is the perpetrator. What I hope is that state, local and federal law enforcement will immediately bring him to Iowa and charge him with the state crimes that he deserves, but more importantly that they open an investigation into what Chow’s, USA Gym and SafeSport knew about him and when they knew it.”
The FBI is continuing to solicit information about Gardner. The agency believes he may have exploited underage girls at Athletes in Motion in Prairieville, Louisiana, from 2004 to 2014, in addition to Purvis from 2014 to 2018, and at Chow’s in West Des Moines from 2018 to 2022. A form for victims is available at forms.fbi.gov/seeking-victim-information-in-sean-michael-gardner-investigation.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ex-West Des Moines gymnastics coach to plead guilty in child porn case
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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