Olympic Gymnastics Coach Marvin Sharp Accused of Child Molestation

The head of an Indianapolis gymnastics academy who coached two members of the 2008 silver medal-winning U.S. women’s Olympic team has been accused of child molestation.

Marion County Jail records show Marvin Sharp, 48, is being held on a preliminary child molesting charge, according to the Associated Press. He has not been formally charged, Peg McLeish, spokeswoman for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, told NBC News.

The investigation began after a female gymnast allegedly complained at Sharp’s Gymnastics Academy. Sharp was arrested after police searching for child pornography removed computers and other electronics from his home, WTHR reports. Authorities also raided his gym, taking with them more potential evidence.

The gym is the same place where Olympian Bridget Sloan trained for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, where she won a silver medal. Another member of that Olympic team, Samantha Peszek, also trained at Sharp’s after the Games, the Indianapolis Star reports.

At least one fellow coach and a gymnast are defending Sharp, local news station WTTV reports.

“I heard the news. I stand by Marvin. I have never seen him behave in any way whatsoever other than respectfully toward any gymnast. Gymnastics is a sport where its very nature puts male coaches at risk of false accusations. I have seen such a thing happen to another coach. I certainly hope this can be cleared up quickly before it affects his very positive and respectable career,” Michele Callahan, a current coach at Sharp’s Gymnastics Academy, wrote in a statement to the news station.

“He’s probably, of all the coaches I have ever come across, the least likely I would ever think to do something like he’s being accused of,” a female gymnast who’s known Sharp for 15 years told WTTV anonymously.

“Everything is done at the knees, at the hips on the hipbone, on the shoulders, elbows, abdomen area,” she said. “Sometimes to save a kid, you’re going to have to grab them wherever you can grab them, but it was only for those very, very rare instances where something went extremely wrong.”

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office says the case remains under investigation.

Sources told WTHR that in addition to the single [preliminary] charge of molestation, there could be more. While the U.S. Attorney’s Office would not confirm the probe, sources told the station the federal agency is specifically looking at which images were found on Sharp’s electronics.

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