Gymnastics Coach Gets 25 Years for Child Porn Charges

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former gymnastics coach in southern Oregon who pleaded guilty to child pornography charges has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The Mail Tribune reports that Jeffrey Bettman was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Medford.

Bettman has been accused of secretly videotaping girls as they were changing clothes in Oregon and California.

Court documents say investigators found 49 child victims in the two states, including some as young as 8, over a nearly two-decade period.

Authorities say he worked at several gymnastic studios over the years, including one in Grants Pass.

A psychiatrist for the defense testified Thursday Bettman's chances of reoffending if he were released after a minimum of 15 years would be "close to zero."