Overview

• Gardner, 38, appeared in a Des Moines courtroom on Aug. 15 on a production-of-child-pornography charge and was ordered detained pending proceedings in Mississippi.
• Investigators say devices seized in May contained hundreds of images and videos of girls about 6 to 14 years old, with footage appearing to come from a restroom camera at Jump’In Gymnastics in Purvis, Mississippi.
• Court records describe at least three accusers from Gardner’s 2018–2020 tenure at Chow’s Gymnastics in West Des Moines who reported inappropriate touching during spotting and other abusive conduct.
• SafeSport suspended Gardner in 2022 after initial reports, but the criminal probe was dormant until a former student contacted West Des Moines police in April 2024, prompting the search that led to the federal case.
• West Des Moines police say their investigation remains active, and MercyOne confirms Gardner, who worked there as a surgical technologist in 2024, is no longer employed.