IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Years before his banishment from gymnastics and arrest after allegations he abused girls he coached, warning signs about Sean Gardner were coming from several sources — yet authorities didn’t stop him from coaching.

A former boss said she brought concerns about Gardner’s “grooming” behavior to USA Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body, months before he was hired to coach at a renowned Iowa academy.

Girls he coached and their parents say they reported inappropriate behavior in the following years at Gardner’s new employer, Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute, which is owned by renowned coach Liang “Chow” Qiao. Gardner not only kept his job, but was promoted.

An The Associated Press investigation found that gymnastics authorities were told about some of

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