Ex-Louisiana gymnastics coach charged with filming minors seeks transfer

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — A man who coached gymnastics at a Prairieville gym was arrested in Iowa and wants to move the court proceedings to Mississippi.

Federal court documents state that Sean Gardner, 38, was accused of sexual misconduct with young female gymnasts, dating back to 2018.

Gardner waived all hearings in Iowa and requested they be set in Mississippi. The court ordered that he remain detained, pending proceedings in the Southern District of Mississippi.

The report states that Gardner inappropriately spotted a minor, placing his hands on their private areas. It also alleges he would call the young female derogatory names.

Another minor reported Gardner in a similar incident in 2022 at Chow’s Gymnastics in Iowa.

During an interview with the West Des Moines Police Department in 2024, a former student spoke about Gardner and his actions. She referred to him as a “father figure” at the beginning of her instruction with him. She also recalled that Gardner would discuss his private sex life with her and other young girls at Chow’s. The teen believed that Gardner would film her stretches.

On May 28, 2025, investigators conducted a search warrant of Gardner’s home and seized several electronics. A forensics team extracted the data from Gardner’s devices and found multiple images of minor females’ genitals exposed. The images appeared to have come from a hidden camera next to a toilet in a restroom. The victims look to be between the ages of six years old to 14 years old.

Another search warrant of Gardner’s home revealed about 50 video files and 400 photos that were indicative of child pornography.

The Prairieville gym, Athletes in Motion, released a statement on Gardner’s arrest.

“We were recently notified by law enforcement that a former employee is the target of an investigation. We are not aware of the details of the investigation and this individual has not been employed by our facility in over 10 years. We are cooperating with the authorities, and we will continue to do so.

Athlete safety is a priority at Athletes In Motion. We have coached athletes in our community for over 40 years and care deeply about the safety of all athletes in our sport. AIM is a member of USA Gymnastics and our coaches are SafeSport certified.”

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