IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Two gymnasts who say they were sexually abused at an elite academy in Iowa filed lawsuits Monday against sports regulators, arguing they failed to stop Sean Gardner from preying on girls despite repeated complaints about the coach's behavior.
The lawsuits allege that USA Gymnastics and the USA Center for SafeSport reported “inappropriate and offensive behavior” in December 2017, including that Gardner hugged and kissed girls and engaged in other grooming activities while training at a Mississippi gym.
The lawsuits allege the organizations failed to properly investigate, revoke Gardner's coaching credentials, report him to law enforcement, or take other actions to protect athletes. They allege that inaction allowed Gardner to get a job at the Chow Institute of Gymnastics and Dance in West Des Moines, Iowa, in 2018, where gymnasts allege they and other teenage girls were abused, despite additional complaints against Gardner.
The institute was founded by prominent coach Liang “Chou” Qiao, who is known for training Olympic champions and has also been named as a defendant in lawsuits.
The lawsuits have been filed for the first time since Gardner's arrest.
The lawsuits, filed in Polk County, Iowa, are the first civil cases brought in connection with the abuse scandal, which came to light in a series of Associated Press reports after the FBI arrested Gardner in August. They argue that USA Gymnastics and SafeSport, a watchdog body created by Congress to investigate misconduct in Olympic sports in the wake of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal, repeatedly missed opportunities to stop Gardner.
The center said Monday it had not been served with the lawsuit and does not typically comment on litigation. He noted that Gardner's 2022 suspension was posted in his online disciplinary database and was “the only reason Gardner was banned from coaching youth athletes in the years prior to his arrest.”
In response to questions in August about the AP's original report, SafeSport said Chow's coaches knew about the allegations but did not properly report them, and that an earlier report about Gardner in 2018 did not involve sexual misconduct.
USA Gymnastics spokeswoman Jill Geer said Monday that the organization understands the “seriousness of this matter” but declined further comment.
Gardner faces federal child pornography charges for allegedly installing a hidden camera in the bathroom of a gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi, between December 2017 and April 2018 to record his students. Investigators say he created videos showing close-ups of at least 10 minors naked or undressing that they recovered from his computers last year while investigating reports of sexual abuse.
Gardner has pleaded not guilty and is being held pending trial, which is scheduled for next month. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
College students became plaintiffs in the lawsuits
The lawsuits allege that the plaintiffs were 11- and 12-year-old Chow's students who dreamed of one day competing in the Olympics when they began training under Gardner in 2018. They claim they were subjected to “physical, emotional and sexual abuse, stalking and harassment” until they quit the gym years later.
The plaintiffs include Iowa State gymnast Finley Weldon, who reported Gardner's abuse to police and then went public with it in an interview with the AP. The other is 19-year-old University of Iowa student Haley Geer, who also wants to make her allegations public, according to her lawyer Elizabeth Pudenz. They are seeking unspecified compensation for their injuries and medical expenses. Several other former gymnasts have reported abuse, and more lawsuits are expected.
The AP does not typically identify victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly.
In addition to USA Gymnastics and SafeSport, named as defendants in the lawsuit are Qiao, a former Chinese gymnast who opened Chow's in 1998 and coached Olympic gold medalists Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas; Qiao's wife, Liwen Zhuan, is a trainer who helps run the gym; and their family corporations that own the business and the property on which it is located.
Lawsuits detail concerns about Gardner's 'grooming behavior'
The lawsuits allege that all defendants were negligent in their response to reports of Gardner's misconduct.
In December 2017, the gymnast's parents filed reports with USA Gymnastics and SafeSport alleging that Gardner demanded long hugs from girls after every practice in Mississippi and that he kicked out one girl who refused, the lawsuits say. He allegedly held an inappropriate meeting behind closed doors with a girl he verbally abused, kissed gymnasts on the forehead, drank heavily in front of them, made sexual jokes about girls and made inappropriate comments on social media, and stalked one girl with whom he was ordered to stop contact, the lawsuits say.
Gardner's then-boss also told USA Gymnastics in January 2018 that Gardner was engaged in “self-care” but was allowed to continue coaching.
The lawsuits allege that SafeSport received another report from Chow's parent “of inappropriate behavior” by Gardner in September 2020 but failed to investigate.
The lawsuits allege that Qiao and Zhuan failed to conduct adequate background checks before hiring Gardner and continued to hire him even after receiving complaints that he inappropriately touched girls while spotting them during exercise.
Qiao and Zhuan did not immediately respond to a message left with Chow. The gym said Gardner passed a standard background check and fired Gardner after SafeSport suspended him in July 2022, although “no violations were found at that time.”
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Pells reported from Denver.
