Wood Cross Police arrested the owner of USA Gymnastics World after it was discovered that he had allegedly set up a recording device in a a bathroom. (Photo credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
WOODS CROSS, Utah — A Woods Cross mother says “it’s been a punch to the gut,” being told her son is one of the children secretly recorded on a hidden device police say the owner of USA Gymnastics World in Woods Cross hid in a bathroom at the facility.
The mother spoke to KSL NewsRadio but wanted to remain annonymous. Her son has spent the last nine years with Adam Jacobs as his coach.
“It was a man that I trusted with my son since he was five years old,” she says. “There have been … many days where he has spent more time with Adam than he has with his own family.”
The mother said she was shocked when she found out.
“I know they always say that it’s those that are close to you that are prone to do this,” she says. “But, I really never imagined anything like this happening.”
Jacobs was a co-owner of the gym with another man. The mother says he coached 10-15 boys, all teens. According to her, they feel like there has been a death after finding out about the hidden device.
“We as parents have asked hundreds of questions about Adam’s involvement with our kids.”
The mother also said she had to have a difficult conversation with her son.
“He kept saying ‘Is this real? Is this real? Are you sure it’s real,” she says. “Those boys are just as shocked as us parents.”
The mother says she is not going to let this stop her, or her son, from acheiving his gymnastics dreams.
“They’re in this together, they’re here for one another, they have each other, they’re not going to let this stop them, they’re going to continue their goals and, kind of, shove it in Adam’s face,” she says. “One person cannot diminish what they have worked so hard for.”
The mother wants other parents to stay vigilant.
“You have to be careful with everybody that is around your kids,” she says. “This is a man that I trusted with my kid for years, and I would have never thought that he would be one that would do these things … his actions and his horrible choices [are] not going to stop my son or my family from continuing on the path that we are with gymnastics.”
Devin Oldroyd contributed to this article.