Polk gymnastics coach arrested on child-pornography charges
A Lakeland gymnastics coach was arrested Tuesday on 24 counts of possessing child pornography, Polk County Sheriff ’s Office deputies said.
Alexander M. Katchalov, 21, admitted to downloading 21 videos and one photo of boys and girls between 3 and 12 years old being sexually abused or displayed lewdly, according to an arrest report.
He and his parents coach adults and children at his parents’ training complex, Elite World Gymnastics in Lakeland. The complex was searched Tuesday, and detectives seized electronic devices on which they found pornography.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said officials will be working to determine if any local children were abused while the investigation continues.
“Our primary concern in this investigation is to find out if there are any local victims,” the sheriff said. Our forensic experts will be searching the devices we have seized today to determine the scope of illegal material that he possesses or has transmitted.”
“It makes all of us angry that someone who has regular access to graphic child pornography also has regular access to children,” Judd said. “We encourage anyone who has reason to believe that there has been any inappropriate contact between Alexander Katchalov and a child to contact us.”
Katchalov told detectives he began downloading child porn from an online chatroom in 2011, according to the arrest report.
“Katchalov advised he knew he was doing wrong and knew he would probably get caught,” a detective wrote in the report.
He told the detective he tried to sign into the account to delete the images but was locked out, the report said.
Katchalov has lived at the training complex the past four years, according to the report. He has competed in national and international trampoline and tumbling events, according to USA Gymnastics.