USA Gymnastics and Olympic sports watchdog failed to stop coach’s sexual abuse, lawsuits allege

By RYAN J FOLEY and EDDIE PELLS IOWA CITY Iowa AP Two gymnasts who say they were sexually abused at an elite academy in Iowa filed lawsuits Monday against the sport s oversight bodies alleging they failed to stop Sean Gardner from preying on girls despite repeated complaints about the coach s behavior The lawsuits allege USA Gymnastics and the U S Center for SafeSport were informed about inappropriate and abusive behaviors in December including that Gardner was hugging and kissing girls and engaging in other grooming behaviors while coaching at a Mississippi gym The organizations failed to properly investigate revoke Gardner s coaching credentials summary him to law enforcement or take other actions to protect athletes the lawsuits allege They claim the inaction enabled Gardner to get a job at Chow s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines Iowa in where the gymnasts say they and other preteen and teenage girls were abused despite additional complaints about Gardner The institute was founded by prominent coach Liang Chow Qiao who is known for producing Olympic champions and was also named as a defendant in the lawsuits FILE Gymnastics coach Liang Chow Qiao is seen during a practice session for the US Classic gymnastics meet May in Chicago AP Photo Charles Rex Arbogast File FILE This photo provided by Julie Weldon shows gymnast Finley Weldon in Des Moines Iowa Aug Julie Weldon via AP File FILE This booking photo provided by the Des Moines Iowa Polk County Sheriff s Office shows Sean Gardner on Aug Polk County Sheriff s Office via AP File Show Caption of FILE Gymnastics coach Liang Chow Qiao is seen during a practice session for the US Classic gymnastics meet May in Chicago AP Photo Charles Rex Arbogast File Expand Lawsuits are first filed since Gardner s arrest The lawsuits filed in Polk County Iowa are the first civil cases brought in an abuse controversy that came to light in a series of reports by The Associated Press after the FBI arrested Gardner in August They allege USA Gymnastics and SafeSport the watchdog created by Congress to investigate misconduct in Olympic sports in the aftermath of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse disgrace missed repeated opportunities to stop Gardner The center declared Monday it had not been served with the lawsuit and typically does not comment on litigation It noted that its temporary suspension of Gardner came upon receiving the first review of sexual misconduct against him and was published on its online database of disciplinary action That was the only reason Gardner was barred from coaching young athletes in the years until his arrest it mentioned Related Articles Shooting of National Guard members prompts flurry of US immigration restrictions US air travelers without REAL IDs will be charged a fee Here s why everyone s talking about a K-shaped financial system White House says admiral ordered follow-on strike on alleged drug boat insists attack was lawful Federal review finds of US trucking schools don t comply with administration rules Gardner s sanction escalated from temporary suspension to ineligible on Sept due to his arrest Responding to questions in August about the original AP reporting the center announced it had been notified by USA Gymnastics that a gym where Gardner worked had resolved a circumstance involving the coach that didn t pertain to sexual misconduct The center revealed coaches at Chow s were aware of subsequent statements involving sexual misconduct but failed to review them USA Gymnastics spokesperson Jill Geer explained Monday the organization appreciates the seriousness of this episode but declined further comment Gardner faces federal child pornography charges for allegedly placing a hidden camera in a bathroom at a gymnastics studio in Purvis Mississippi between December and April to record his students Investigators say he created videos showing close-up images of at least minors naked or undressing which they recovered from his computers last year while researching reports of sexual abuse Gardner has pleaded not guilty and has been jailed pending trial which is scheduled for next month His attorney didn t instantly return a message seeking comment Plaintiffs in lawsuits are now college students The lawsuits allege the plaintiffs were - and -year-old trainees at Chow s who dreamed of one day competing in the Olympics when they began training under Gardner in They say they were subjected to physical emotional and sexual abuse harassment and molestation until they quit the gym years later The plaintiffs include Iowa State gymnast Finley Weldon who shared insists of abuse by Gardner to police and later went general in an AP interview The other is -year-old University of Iowa trainee Hailey Gear who also wants to go population with her statements according to her attorney Elizabeth Pudenz They seek unspecified damages for their injuries and recovery expenses Several other former gymnasts have broadcasted abuse and more lawsuits are expected The AP generally does not identify casualties of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly In addition to USA Gymnastics and SafeSport the defendants named in the lawsuit are Qiao the former Chinese gymnast who opened Chow s in and coached Olympic gold medalists Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas Qiao s wife Liwen Zhuan a coach who helps run the gym and their family corporations that own the business and the property on which it sits Lawsuits detail concerns over Gardner s grooming behavior The lawsuits allege all the defendants were negligent in how they responded to reports of Gardner s misconduct The parents of a gymnast filed reports with USA Gymnastics and SafeSport in December alleging Gardner required girls to give him long hugs after every training in Mississippi and that he kicked one girl out who refused the lawsuits claim He allegedly had an improper closed-door meeting with a girl whom he verbally abused kissed gymnasts on their foreheads drank alcohol excessively in front of them made sexual jokes to girls and inappropriate comments on social media and stalked one girl who he was instructed to stop contacting the lawsuits claim Gardner s then-boss also announced to USA Gymnastics in January that Gardner had engaged in grooming behaviors but he was allowed to continue coaching The lawsuits allege SafeSport received another account from a parent at Chow s concerning improper behaviors by Gardner in September but failed to investigate The lawsuits allege Qiao and Zhuan failed to conduct an adequate background check before hiring Gardner and continued to employ him even after receiving complaints that he inappropriately touched girls while spotting them during exercises Qiao and Zhuan didn t straightaway return a message left at Chow s The gym has explained that Gardner passed a standard background check and it fired Gardner after he was suspended by SafeSport in July even though there had been no finding of misconduct at that time Pells broadcasted from Denver