Gymnastics Coach Sentenced for Child Exploitation

A North Texas gymnastics coach has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for child exploitation, the U.S. Attorney's Office has announced.

Lyndsey Ryan Cox, 26, of Hurst, also known as "Coach Wes," pleaded guilty in June to a charge of coercion or enticement.

According to court documents, the investigation began last summer when a parent "reported she had seen an inappropriate Facebook message on her 14-year-old son's Facebook from his ex-gymnastics coach."

Police interviewed the teenager. According to an affidavit, the boy told police he began communicating with Cox via text message before turning to Facetime, a video call service.

"He stated Coach Cox would tell him sexual things he had done with his partners," the affidavit said.

The teenager also told investigators his former coach professed his love for him and allegedly exposed himself to the teen during online chats. While the teen refused to do the same, he told investigators that he knew of another underage male student who sent Cox a nude photo of himself.

Police took over the teen's social media accounts and began communicating with Cox, documents say.

"During the conversations, the suspect stated that he loved the victim and wanted to be with him," the affidavit states.

Police said Cox set up a meeting with whom he believed was the 14-year-old for Monday afternoon at the Collin Creek Mall. Officers arrested Cox at the mall.

Investigators said Cox had made a hotel reservation at a nearby La Quinta Inn. According to court documents, Cox said the room would "give us more time to play."

One McKinney gym, that didn’t want to be identified, called police to report that Cox used the facility for private lessons for a few weeks. Managers alerted parents after Cox's arrest.

And gym in Allen that also didn’t want to be identified said Cox coached there several years ago. Instructors there talked with students about the coach’s arrest, but no one spoke up with concerns.