Former Gymnastics Coach Sentenced For Child Porn Distribution

BALTIMORE, MD — A former gymnastics coach in Columbia was sentenced this week to six years in prison after he admitted to distributing child pornography.

There was a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, officials reported.

Paul Daniel Bollinger, 57, of Windsor Mill, admitted to disseminating pornography showing children, including at least 10 movies shared with an undercover Baltimore County police detective, prosecutors said.

Authorities traced his IP address, executed a search warrant at his residence and found more than 40,000 images and 100 videos of child pornography on his electronic devices, according to his plea agreement.

While executing a search warrant at his home, officials said they found Bollinger's computer in the midst of distributing child pornography using a peer-to-peer file sharing program, and the wallpaper on his computer showed a naked girl on her stomach.

Next to his bed, there were also 100 pages of handwritten stories about a man having sex with children, which Bollinger told authorities he wrote while he masturbated.

He was sentenced on March 3 to six years in prison, followed by 12 years of supervised release.

Bollinger worked as a youth gymnastics coach for more than 30 years before he was arrested. Most recently, he worked at Top Flight Gymnastics in Columbia.

He told law enforcement he has had an "obsession" with child pornography since 1990; he prefers 8 to 12-year-old girls, the age group he coached in gymnastics; and he is attracted to the "body type" of girls he coaches but has not had inappropriate contact with them, according to his plea agreement.

• Top Flight Gymnastics Instructor Arrested For Possessing and Distributing Child Porn
• Former Top Flight Gymnastics Coach Admits to Child Pornography Distribution: U.S. Attorney

Photo courtesy of Baltimore County Police Department.