FORT LAUDERDALE – More than a dozen parents and children showed up for a bond hearing this morning in support of a South Florida gymnastics coach accused of molesting one of his students.
They wore purple T-shirts with the name of the Deerfield Beach gym where Raymond Adams coached before he was arrested last week. Adams, 38, of Boca Raton, is accused of fondling a 10-year-old girl at Bieger International Gymnastics in September.
“We don’t believe it,” said Vonda Bray, of West Palm Beach, whose 13-year-old daughter was a student of his. “We want him back at our gym.”
Adams sat quietly during the half-hour hearing with his feet shackled and wrists handcuffed. Broward Circuit Judge Michael Gates delayed a bond ruling. …
Gymnastics students, parents back coach from suburban Boca Raton at molestation hearing
Whether innocent or guilty. Whether found innocent or guilty, it’s likely Raymond Adams’ finished as a gymnastics coach.
It’s good to see that Jana and the club are standing up for him, as they think he’s innocent.
26 comments ↓
Nice of them to be thinking of the children, by supporting a man who has been arrested for similar charges pleading guilty and going to trial for the same changes in another state.
I’m not sure if Jana is supporting him so much as telling the truth about what she saw on the day in question. If the child claims to have been molested during class in front of all the other students and parents but nobody saw it, what are they supposed to do?
This guy is toast, if the judge/jury are as quick to judge as the internet–he’s already being skewered.
I am by no means defending his alleged actions (nor do I particularly think he’s likely to be innocent), but let’s let the people with the evidence make the calls, shall we?
This happened to a former coach at our gym. He was found not guilty earlier this year, but his career as a coach is over. No club will hire him. I believe he’s planning on suing the family that accused him.
Umm, innocent until proven guilty, sure, but logic must play a part somewhere. When you’ve been charged with the SAME CRIME in three states, previously pled guilty, at least once, and have been fired from NUMEROUS clubs, there’s a very good chance you ARE guilty. And when you’re talking about children’s safety the risk is far, far too great. These parents/gym directors are pure and simple, endangering their kids and it makes me sick. And what is with gymnastics? Do we want to be known as the Catholic church of sport? How many times do people have to be accused before we finally start to believe and drum them out of the sport? I can name MANY offenders who worked at literally DOZENS of well-known clubs, all across the U.S., before finally getting booted from USA Gymnastics … And then, in some cases, STILL getting jobs after that.
Here is more info for those with any doubts:
Bower said that in addition to uncovering the arrest, she traced Adams’ employment history throughout the region, finding a pattern of complaints over his behavior with students.
Bower said she used that information to conclude that Adams’ contact with the 10-year-old did not appear accidental.
“He touched her on her nipple,” Bower said. “He was blowing on her neck, just very inappropriate behavior.”
The child also told investigators Adams fondled other parts of her body and asked her whether she had French-kissed boys, according to a Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Bower would not name the other gyms where Adams had worked.
Anyone with information about Adams is asked to contact their local police agency.
Staff Writer Brian Haas contributed to this report. Sofia Santana can be reached at svsantana@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4631.
Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The guy is a pervert!
anon, what do you mean by that Catholic church reference. I think I know where you were going with it, and as a devout Catholic myself, I am offended by your comment. Leave religion out of a gymnastics forum!
anon, you must have been in the sport as long as i have ,because you are correct that they just keep getting jobs in new gyms, and this gym has already been struggling since it opened, now no matter how much money comes out of boca it should be shunned
He coached at our gym he was creepy all the time he would text us girls and tell us what leo look pretty on us he was disgusting and we all knew it he is such a creeper
Well, alexandrite, anon isn’t talking about “religion”. Anon is talking about Pedophiles who seemingly were allowed to run wild and unchecked and who happened to be part of the Catholic church.
Sorry clt, other clubs that have had coaches/owners get charged/convicted with molesting the kids haven’t always been shunned. There’s no reason to think it will happen with this one. Maybe if it was, gyms would be more diligent with their background checks.
This guy could be guilty but then he could be innocent. I’m not in a rush to proclaim somebody guilty in any case of he-said, she-said. It’s possible for a person to be falsely accused. It’s possible a false accusation could haunt somebody’s career and other peoples’ perception of their actions. It’s not just the guilty who plead guilty. Sometimes scared innocent people plead guilty too.
i know they do not …that is what makes it so scary for everyone involed
Innocent until proven guilty is all well and good from a legal perspective; it’s a principal which I wholeheartedly agree with, because it is fair. Fairness is an important quality in the criminal justice system.
When protecting kids, however, the concept of fairness immediately becomes irrelevant. If we have even a shadow of a doubt about a coach, that coach should not be trusted with the job. It sucks, it isn’t fair to a coach who may well be innocent, but if we have to choose between what’s fair for the coaches and what’s necessary to protect the kids, that’s an easy choice in my opinion.
Sometimes good people get screwed over. But if that’s what it takes to protect children in this sport, it is a price that we must be willing to pay.
Totally agree with Geoffrey Taucer
“Sometimes good people get screwed over. But if that’s what it takes to protect children in this sport, it is a price that we must be willing to pay.”
When it’s someone else that’s getting screwed over, I suppose it’s easy to pay the price.
the scary thing about this sport as a coach is that hands do go places some times and you just hope the gymnast doesn’t perceive it as inappropiate. That being said, this guys record makes him look extremely shady and a classic predator
The problem, and some people forgetting, is that he was charge with the same allegation in 3 states before … and he pled guilty!!!…
… I can’t say now is guilty… but the chances that repeat the same behavior are very big to ignore them… I’m sure as well that the Office of the sheriff would not arrest him without evidence beyond a reasonable doubt… I can understand the bound between Coach-Gymnast, but in this case the parents and gymnast should keep a distance and let the police finish all investigation and the let the justice take a decision in this case…
I don’t understand how Jana (or some parents) can be involved in this case when he works in Beigers only for a very limited period …..
sherymag and anon, if what you mean is this guys happens to be Catholic, then fine. If, however, you are making comments about some accusations against priests completely unrelated to this story, then it needs to stop because it is completely inaccurate and uncalled for.
As for this particular coach, I hope his name is cleared if he is innocent and I hope the proper steps are taken if he is guilty.
Finally got him. This guy worked in many Gyms in which he demonstrated very questionable behavior. Im surprised it took this long. I do not think he is a child molester, but i do think he has some mental issues with acceptance, relationships and kids.
Some excellent commentary indeed. And I am all for innocent until proven guilty, but in the meantime, children MUST be protected. Alexandrite, I too was raised Catholic, and this doesn’t offend me in the LEAST. It is a fair comparison and one which the Catholic church has earned in spades. The news is filled with it. Lighten and accept the sad truth about the church. Let’s not let gymnastics become so easily associated with pedophilia as the Catholic church has. Take action now, these people have no place in our sport and on our planet.
People have blown the issue of priests doing unpriestly things way out of proportion. The very fact that we hear anything about it in the news shows that it is out of the ordinary and very rare. The vast, vast majority of priests are great men who stay true to their vows and faith. This over generalization is unfair to nearly all priests and the Church in general.
Let’s put this talk behind us and get back to focusing solely on the story at hand, of which I have already stated what I hope and feel should happen.
Good grief.
By “like the Catholic church” I meant that predators are simply moved into new environments again and again, instead of being removed from the sport/priesthood. Take offense if you’d like, but it’s a well documented fact (and admitted by the Church itself) that, that is how the Church (capital “C” for Catholic) handled such incidents for decades, and probably longer.
Of course, it is only a small, very small, percentage of priests who engaged in this behavior and it’s also a very, very small percentage of gymnastics coaches too, but that doesn’t make it either OK or irrelevant.
I don’t think the guy should be lynched, jailed or castrated for his actions, but as long as there’s even the hint of a rumor this person should NOT be working with kids. Period. As someone else stated “innocent until proven guilty” is a legal standard, not a job mandate.
Oh and, if, as a coach, you’re worried about the perception of where your hands go when spotting, that’s a good thing and means you’re a normal, concerned person. It’s those that relish those “oops” (and not so accidental) touches that are the real issue.
The sport is littered with horror stories like Paul O’Neil, Steve Elliott and Jon Valdez, just to name. I know plenty of male coaches who won’t even stretch or massage their gymnasts, male or female, for fear of it looking bad.
I even heard one parent of a successful male gymnast excuse their choice of coach, someone who had been accused of (and arrested for, in at least two occasions) nasty things in multiple gyms, across multiple states (the same nasty thing with different girls), saying “well, even if it’s true, it wasn’t boys,” as an excuse for continuing to allow their 15-year-old to train with this guy.
I have only one question: If just a small accusation brings doubts strong enough to remove a coach from gymnastics completely, do you all realize how easy is for an upset/angry parent to take revenge over a coach? And that coach is doomed forever?
Where is the fairness in this? Will this fear of ending in this situation will make the coaches be more careless with the kids ( I better let her fall than being accused of touching her) therefore the quality of coaching will suffer?
Just wondering…
If someone is truly guilty of a crime of this nature, they should be severly punished but it’s sad when they are falsly accused. It’s unfortunate that this has occured as anyone who goes to the gym knows he is innocent. The mother has made accusations like this before about other people, but never went to the police. Shortly before she filed these charges she sent and e-mail accusing another coach from another gym of the same thing only she did not go to the police about him. It is unfortunate for any man, that anyone can so easily accuse them of something and ruin their life. Regarding his past charges one was proven bogus and was dropped and another one was not the same and he could not afford legal cousel so he pled to battery per advise from public defender. He was in his early 20′s at the time.
Like I said, it sucks. It’s not fair. But when we have to weigh fairness for the coaches against safety of the kids, safety of the kids takes priority.
I am not condoning throwing him in jail without proof, or anything like that; as I said, I think that innocent until proven guilty is exactly how the legal system should work. Better to allow a guilty man to remain unpunished than to punish an innocent man.
But with hiring/firing decisions, I believe the opposite is true. It is better to force an innocent coach to find another line of work than it is to allow a guilty one to continue coaching.
It sucks. It isn’t fair. But the kids safety takes priority over fairness.
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