advertisement

Gymnastics coach charged with child porn possession

A St. Charles gymnastics coach faces up to 50 years in prison after being charged with 10 counts of child pornography possession.

Shawn Chandler Bowlden, 33, of the 900 block of South 3rd Street, was arrested last Wednesday at his home after police found pornographic images and videos involving children on his computer.

The arrest ended a month-long investigation into the St. Charles Gymnastics Academy coach. Rich Malacina, who bought the academy with his business partner, Jay Fisher, in March, said the arrest shocked everyone.

"He was a phenomenal coach," Malacina said. "About the best you can get. We just couldn't believe it."

Malacina said the academy fired Bowlden and staff immediately contacted parents to see if they had any complaints about Bowlden. The search went into the early hours of Thursday and turned up no accusations of inappropriate conduct.

"This is more about Shawn (Bowlden) and his personal life than the gym." Malacina said. "It's just unfortunate for him."

Bowlden coached Malacina and Fisher's own daughters for more than six years. Malacina described Bowlden as an experienced, patient and highly talented coach, who was well-liked by his students and their parents.

St. Charles Police Department spokesman Paul McCurtain confirmed there was no indication of inappropriate conduct with former or current students.

The Kane County State's Attorney's Office charged Bowlden with 10 counts of felony child pornography on Wednesday. He is being held at the Kane County Jail on $200,000 bond. If he does post bond, Associate Judge Linda Abrahamson ordered Bowlden to not have contact with any one under 18, to avoid areas frequented by those under 18, to submit to GPS monitoring and to not use the Internet.

If found guilty, Bowlden faces a sentence of probation or up to 50 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Oct. 26.

Anyone with information about this case can call police at (630) 443-3732.