The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched an effort to identify potential victims of Sean Michael Gardner, a former gymnastics coach recently arrested on a federal charge related to the sexual exploitation of children.
Authorities allege that between December 2017 and April 2018, Gardner, now 38, installed a hidden camera in a bathroom at a gymnastics studio in Purvis, Mississippi. While employed as a coach there, he allegedly created multiple videos showing minors undressed, including close-up images of their anuses and genitals.
After leaving Mississippi in 2018, Gardner moved to Iowa where he worked at a gym in West Des Moines. In late May 2025, West Des Moines Police searched his apartment. Investigators found electronic devices containing the hidden camera recordings from the Mississippi gym bathroom.
Gardner is currently detained in federal custody while proceedings continue in the Southern District of Mississippi.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal for the Southern District of Iowa announced the case. The investigation involves several agencies: the FBI-Child Exploitation Task Force, FBI-Jackson Division (Mississippi), Iowa Department of Public Safety-Division of Criminal Investigation-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and West Des Moines Police Department.
The FBI is encouraging anyone who believes they or their minor dependents may have been victimized by Gardner—or anyone with information about other possible victims—to contact authorities through this dedicated page: https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/victim-services/seeking-victim-information/seeking-victim-information-in-sean-michael-gardner-investigation
"United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation-Child Exploitation Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation-Jackson, Mississippi Division, Iowa Department of Public Safety-Division of Criminal Investigation-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and West Des Moines Police Department are investigating this case."
