Sean Gardner sentenced to 90 years for recording Mississippi minors
Sean Gardner, a former gymnastics coach, was sentenced to 90 years in prison after he admitted to secretly recording young gymnasts in a Mississippi gym's bathroom between 2017 and 2018.
The sentence was handed down on October 14 by Judge Kristi Johnson, following Gardner's guilty plea to producing child pornography.
Lawsuits target USA Gymnastics and SafeSport
Gardner's arrest in 2026 was followed by the recovery from his computers of videos of at least 10 minors and brought attention to how poorly abuse reports were handled in gymnastics.
Former students from an Iowa gym had accused him of abuse earlier, but those claims weren't reported as required, leading to lawsuits against USA Gymnastics and SafeSport for not stepping in sooner.
The case has highlighted just how important it is for sports organizations to protect young athletes and actually follow reporting rules.