Source: Office of United States Attorneys
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A Utah gymnastics coach and owner of USA Gymnastics World pleaded guilty to transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Adam Richard Jacobs, 34, of Woods Cross, Utah, was charged by indictment in April 2023. See press release: Utah Gymnastics Coach Arrested on Child Exploitation Charges
According to court documents and admissions made at the change of plea hearing, Jacobs, beginning on a date unknown and continuing until March 2023, transported a minor from Utah to other states including Florida and Texas as his gymnastics coach. During this time, he placed a hidden camera in the minor’s hotel room and bathroom to produce child sexual abuse materials. Jacobs further admitted that all electronic devices seized pursuant to a search warrant served in March 2023 were used to further participate in the production of child sexual abuse materials.
As stated in court documents, a USA Gymnastics World employee discovered a hidden camera twice in a unisex restroom at the facility and contacted police. A subsequent investigation recovered approximately 120 video files of victims in the restroom. Approximately 40 videos showed Jacobs setting up the cameras in his home and at USA Gymnastics World.
Jacobs is scheduled to be sentenced August 14, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. before a U.S. District Court Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated jointly by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Woods Cross Police Department, the Utah Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Kaysville Police Department, Clearfield Police Department, the United States Secret Service, and the Davis County Attorney’s Office.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Carl Hollan and Assistant United States Attorney Carol Dain of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.