Former U.S.A. Gymnastics Coach Faces 14 Charges of Lewdness With a Minor

A former coach for U.S.A. Gymnastics was arrested in Las Vegas on Friday and faces more than a dozen counts of lewdness with a minor, the authorities said.

The former coach, Terry Gray, 52, was a gymnastics coach in Las Vegas from 2009 to 2015 and was suspended last year from coaching by U.S.A. Gymnastics, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.

Mr. Gray “is not permitted any contact with any U.S.A. Gymnastics-sanctioned event, member club, professional member or athlete involved with U.S.A. Gymnastics member clubs or events,” according to an online record of suspended coaches maintained by U.S.A. Gymnastics.

ImageCredit…Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

It was not immediately clear what led to the suspension, which lasts until October 2021. It was also not clear when he was a coach for U.S.A. Gymnastics.

Regarding his suspension, the organization cited sections of its rules that give U.S.A. Center for SafeSport jurisdiction over investigations of sexual misconduct within U.S.A. Gymnastics, and that prohibit members who are suspended from participating in any U.S.A. Gymnastics activities or competitions.

SafeSport, which was formed in 2017 by the United States Olympic Committee, investigates allegations of sexual misconduct for sports under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, including U.S.A. Gymnastics.

U.S.A. Gymnastics and SafeSport did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

If convicted, Mr. Gray could face a maximum sentence of life in prison, Stephen B. Wolfson, the district attorney of Clark County in Nevada, said on Saturday. Mr. Wolfson could not elaborate on details about the charges, including when the episodes took place.

In Nevada, the lewdness charge involves a victim being touched “with the intent of arousing or appealing or gratifying the victim or the offender,” Mr. Wolfson said.

Mr. Gray, who was charged with 14 counts of lewdness with a minor under the age of 14, was being held in the Clark County Detention Center without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. It was not immediately clear on Saturday whether he had a lawyer.

Mr. Gray continued to work as a gymnastics coach at a club in Temecula, Calif., while the SafeSport investigation was proceeding, The Orange County Register reported in 2018.

John C. Manly, a lawyer who represents about 200 gymnasts who are suing U.S.A. Gymnastics, including one of Mr. Gray’s former athletes, said Mr. Gray had coached at gyms in California, Nevada and Ohio throughout his career.

“This isn’t just any gymnastics coach,” Mr. Manly said, “this is somebody who coached national team athletes, world champion athletes and Olympic athletes.”

His clients are among those who sued U.S.A. Gymnastics for failing to protect them from Lawrence G. Nassar, a former doctor for the U.S.A. Gymnastics national team. In 2018, Mr. Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for multiple sex crimes.

A documentary, “Athlete A,” released last month on Netflix, chronicles the abuses.

After the documentary was released, the chief executive of U.S.A. Gymnastics, Li Li Leung, said in a statement that “within U.S.A. Gymnastics, under an entirely new leadership team, we have implemented stronger policies and preventive measures, launched multiple educational efforts, and made sweeping organizational, leadership and personnel changes.”

“Most importantly, we have prioritized changing the subculture within our community that allowed this to happen,” the statement continued. “We owe these survivors an incredible debt of gratitude for igniting these changes across the sport.”

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