GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. - The owner of the Best Gymnastics Training Center, William (Bill) Witthar, will soon head to court on sexual abuse allegations from April of 2007.
The training center is located at 1207 NW Pamela Blvd., in Grain Valley.
The sexual misconduct allegations didn't surprise Amy Baxter. Baxter worked with Witthar in a previous gym and at his training center as a co-coach several years before the sexual abuse allegations.
Baxter was a co-coach for Best Gymnastics several years ago. She says she was uncomfortable with the way Witthar stretched his female athletes, and she told him.
"I use to tell him that his conduct was inappropriate," Baxter said. "He'd change for a few days, and they go right back."
Baxter says she also explained to the young girls the proper stretching techniques, so they could better protect themselves. But it was a warning she says didn't work.
"It just kills me that I did warn them. I did tell them," said Baxter.
According to court documents, a girl who was 15 at the time accused Witthar of sexually assaulting her in April of 2007. The two were at a gymnastics competition in St. Cloud, Minn., when the alleged abuse took place. According to
court records, the victim says Witthar called her to his hotel room, kissed her, and then sexually assaulted her.
The prosecutor in Stearns County, Minn., is still investigating the allegations, but Baxter believes parents who have children at this training center should know about the accusations.
"I want him to never be able to be around children again," Baxter said. "In my eyes, and in the eyes of the parents who were in his system, he's a predator. And he will prey."
Witthar refused an interview, but said the allegations against him are untrue. He said the accusations came after he asked the alleged victim to leave his team.
Witthar's jury trial is set for Jan. 26 in Stearns County, Minn.
