British Gymnastics failings over abuse scandal back in spotlight

Former leading judge has told ITV documentary he raised alarm about two coaches years before they were jailed for child sexual offences

British Gymnastics is facing accusations it ignored warnings about two paedophile coaches almost four years after the abuse scandal that engulfed it.
A former leading gymnastics judge has told a documentary that he had raised the alarm about Stuart Woods and David Schadek several years before they were jailed for child sexual offences.
And in arguably the most serious allegations made yet against the beleaguered governing body, Daren Norman said his concerns had been dismissed before criminal offences went on to be committed.
He told ITV’s Gymnastics: A Culture of Abuse?, which is being aired on Thursday night, a fellow coach had confided in him that Woods had been caught having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old behind one of the gyms the paedophile was working in.
Norman said that, upon reporting the matter, he was informed that because he had not witnessed the incident itself, it was merely “hearsay”.
He added: “I do not know what happened from then because he did not appear to get suspended, he was never out of the gym, and Stuart was then elevated to one of the national coaches.”
Woods denies Norman’s accusation.
Woods was jailed for 11 years in 2021 – 10 years after Norman’s alleged warning – for sexually abusing a boy and grooming two girls while teaching at the Reddam House Berkshire private school.
Reading Crown Court heard Woods had committed his crimes on school premises, with the boy saying in a victim statement he “rarely experiences happiness” following the abuse.
“Stuart is not a bad man; he is a monster,” he added.
Norman also said he had seen Schadek buying an underage gymnast an alcoholic drink around 15 years before the coach was eventually suspended.
“She was very young, 13 or 14,” Norman said. “So I went over to the hierarchy of British Gymnastics. I said, ‘You know that Dave is giving Bacardi and cokes to this gymnast, that he is also sharing a room with? Albeit with consent of the parent’.
“And their answer was, ‘That’s up to him. Don’t get involved’.”
Schadek was suspended in January 2018 before being jailed for four-and-a-half years almost two years ago for sexually assaulting two children.
Norman added: “They should’ve taken it seriously when I first said about this girl having alcohol at such a young age.”
The documentary also featured three alleged victims of former Great Britain Olympian Stan Wild, who Telegraph Sport disclosed almost three years ago was at the centre of a police investigation into allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour that had belatedly seen him banned for life by British Gymnastics.
One complainant, named only as Jess, branded Wild a “b——” and claimed he had patted her on her vagina when she was eight.
Two of Wild’s other accusers also appeared in the programme, including Nikki O’Donnell, who claimed her abuse had left her suicidal.
Wild has always denied any wrongdoing and he has never been charged with any criminal offences, with the Crown Prosecution Service deciding in 2022 there was insufficient evidence to take further action.
O’Donnell is among a number of former gymnasts suing British Gymnastics, which told the programme: “British Gymnastics is halfway through an extensive programme of action to make gymnastics safe, positive and fair for all. Gymnasts and clubs have said progress is being made.
“The reforms are a joint effort involving experts and abuse survivors, who have been a vital part of the development of new safe sport policies. These are subject to independent scrutiny.
“Abuse, mistreatment and harm have no place in gymnastics. We urge anyone with concerns to come forward.”
Gymnastics: A Culture Of Abuse? is on ITV1 & ITVX on Feb 22 at 9pm