Ex-Olympic Coach Found Dead in Jail Cell

Marvin Sharp was facing several felony charges
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 20, 2015 2:15 PM CDT
Ex-Olympic Coach Found Dead in Jail Cell
Bridget Sloan of the US gets a hug from her coach Marvin Sharp after competing in the Women's All- Around final at the the World Gymnastics Championships at the O2 Arena in London, Oct. 16, 2009.   (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

An award-winning gymnastic coach charged with crimes against underage children was found dead yesterday in his jail cell, WRTV Indianapolis reports. Authorities say Marvin Sharp, 49, took his own life but gave no further details. Arrested just last month, Sharp was accused of molesting a preteen gymnast and storing thousands of photos of underage girls and boys at his home and his gymnasium in Indianapolis.

Charges against him included three counts of sexual misconduct, four counts of child molestation, and federal charges, WTHR reports. In his better days, he coached two athletes on the 2008 US women's Olympic team and was the 2009 US Olympic Committee Gymnastics Coach of the Year, the AP reports. Click to see the federal complaint or state charges against him. (More child molestation stories.)

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