A former youth gymnastics coach in the United States was sentenced to 90 years in prison Wednesday for secretly recording young female gymnasts as they were undressing and using a bathroom at a gym in Mississippi. Sean Gardner, 39, was sentenced by US District Judge Kristi Johnson on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Gardner had pleaded guilty to three federal charges of producing child sexual abuse material.
How Sean Gardner Secretly Recorded Young Gymnasts.
Gardner installed a hidden camera in a bathroom in a gymnasium where he worked as a coach at the gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi, according to court documents. The recordings were made between December 2017 and April 2018. At least 10 minors were seen in various stages of undress in video evidence investigators found at the gym.
The recordings were only discovered a few years later when investigators searched through electronic devices seized from Gardner's home in Iowa. The investigation started at the time after allegations of inappropriate behavior by the coach towards young athletes who were under his tutelage.
Why did the Court Sentence Him to 90 Years?
Judge Kristi Johnson imposed the maximum sentence for each of the three federal charges Gardner had pleaded guilty to. She imposed 30 years in prison on each count, resulting in a 90-year sentence. Gardner is almost certainly to be in prison for the rest of his life because of his age and because of his crimes.
The sentence is an indictment of the seriousness of secretly recording minors in private environments and producing illegal material that involves children. The US Department of Justice announced in May 2026 that Gardner had pleaded guilty to the three charges. The sentencing followed the federal criminal case in Mississippi.
Investigation Started after Reports of Inappropriate Conduct.
The investigation began after allegations were made to the US Center for SafeSport, an organisation that works to prevent abuse and misconduct in Olympic and Paralympic sports. SafeSport passed the allegations on to law enforcement, and then federal and local authorities investigated Gardner’s home in Iowa and examined electronic devices recovered in the process.
Their findings included photographs and videos of minors who appeared to have been filmed using a concealed camera. The case has led to speculation about whether sports organisations adequately responded to warning signs in coaches who are very close to athletes.
The separate allegations in Iowa are different from the federal case.
Gardner was also accused of inappropriate or abusive acts by former gymnasts who said he had been in the gym at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa. Some former students have filed civil lawsuits against him and organisations connected to the sport. But those allegations are different from the Mississippi federal case that resulted in the 90-year prison sentence for Gardner.
Gardner had not been charged in connection with the Iowa allegations in the report, the Associated Press said. The distinction is important because the prison sentence relates to the three federal charges to which Gardner pleaded guilty, while separate allegations and civil claims have their own legal processes.
The case has brought back scrutiny of the protection mechanisms that are in place to protect children in competitive sports. Coaches are trusted to have access to young athletes and have to be able to report what is happening, and there is only so much trust in them to report an incident and oversight.
The investigation also demonstrates that reports from safeguarding organisations can be a big help to law enforcement who are investigating suspected crimes. Gardner’s 90-year sentence is a federal criminal sentence, but questions of how early warning signs were identified and how sports organisations protect young athletes still percolate through the whole story.
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