Overview

• Agents say a May search of Sean Gardner’s apartment recovered a phone, laptop and desktop containing about 50 videos and 400 photos of girls roughly 6 to 14, including restroom footage from a hidden camera.
• Court records attribute several allegations to Gardner’s time at Chow’s Gymnastics, including reports of inappropriate spotting, fondling and suspected filming during stretching.
• SafeSport received initial reports in March 2022 and issued a provisional suspension that July, while West Des Moines police paused their probe after victims declined to pursue charges.
• The local investigation reopened in April 2024 after a new report, leading to the late‑May seizure of devices and Gardner’s federal arrest in August.
• Gardner made an initial appearance in Des Moines on a production‑of‑child‑pornography charge and was ordered detained for proceedings in Mississippi, as a hospital he joined in 2024 said he is no longer employed there.