Virginia

Former Northern Virginia Gymnastics Coach Arrested for Alleged Sexual Abuse of Underage Athlete

A Northern Virginia gymnastics coach has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing an underage athlete more than a decade ago.

Prince William County Police say Sergio Galvez, now 47, trained the alleged victim at the Capital Gymnastics National Training Center in Burke and sexually abused her multiple times in the Haymarket area between August 2007 and November 2008.

"There were multiple occasions, three of which we were able to identify, of specific acts that occurred here in the county between 2007 and 2008," said Jonathan Perok of Prince William County Police.

The victim was between 16 and 17 years old at the time, according to police.

An investigation began in July after the FBI received a tip and then notified county police. Galvez, of Clifton, was arrested Tuesday and is facing three charges of taking indecent liberties with a child by a custodian, police said.

This isn't the first time Galvez has been accused of sexual misconduct. In addition to coaching in Burke, he also coached at the national level as the Team USA head tumbling coach but was fired from USA Gymnastics in 2018 for sexual misconduct allegations.

The owner of the gym in Burke said Galvez was fired locally around the same time.

Police are not ruling out the possibility of more victims.

"This individual had a much farther reach than just Prince William County so that's why we're partnering with the FBI to make sure that the right jurisdictions are notified, in case there are additional cases," Perok said.

Anyone with information about the possibility of other victims is asked to call the FBI's Washington Field Office at 202-278-2000.

Despite these allegations, parents told News4 they trust the coaches at the Capital Gymnastics National Training Center.

This is not the first sexual misconduct case for a Capital Gymnastics coach. In March, Fairfax County Police arrested 28-year-old Aryan Mazloum-Yazdi for alleged sexual misconduct with an athlete he met at Capital Gymnastics.

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