ArtSports Owner Convicted Of Sex Abuse Will Sell Gym
The owner of ArtSports World, a convicted sex offender, will no longer be coaching and plans to sell his gym, according to Tex Womack, the new manager of operations.
He said the gym will change its name to Trampoline World and will become a USA Gymnastics member gym.
He said Michael Zapp is “no longer involved in any dealings inside the confines of the building.” Zapp was convicted of second-degree sex abuse in Oregon in 1987 for touching a 12-year-old gymnast’s breasts.
According to a court clerk in Jackson County, he served jail time (though the records show disputing information as to whether it was a 20 or 150 day sentence) and was put on probation for four years.
According to court documents, his probation included having no contact with females under 18 without a parent or another adult present, except for his own children. It also required him to attend a sex offender program and pay restitution to the victim.
Court records show Zapp violated his probation in 1988, and was jailed for 45 days. There is no record of what specifically that violation was.
On Thursday, Womack spoke with TARGET 13 Investigates about the importance of making the management change quickly.
“I am officially in charge of everything in here. Mr. Zapp is now out,” said Womack. “That was the ultimate, it had to be done.”
Womack said since this story surfaced, the gym has taken a public relations hit, but added that steps are in place to make sure this kind of situation never happens again anywhere in the country.
“I got word from USA Gymnastics that it was changing anyway and the loophole that allowed anyone with any background, negative background especially with kids, would change and it would either change by December or sooner,” said Womack.
TARGET 13 Investigates talked to Zapp on Sunday about his conviction. He said there was never any misconduct on his part, and suggested the claim had to do with a group of parents who owed him a lot of money.
“You don’t have to have much anymore for something like this, for any accusation, to cause you to go through this horrible experience,” said Zapp.
The court records don’t clearly indicate if the conviction was for a misdemeanor or felony, but a court clerk said he assumed it was a misdemeanor based on the court where Zapp was sentenced. Zapp was not required to register as a sex offender because the database did not exist at the time.
TARGET 13 Investigates also asked Zapp about assistant head coach Doug Boger who has been banned from coaching by USA Gymnastics because of allegations of sexual and physical assault by former gymnasts.
On Sunday, Zapp said Boger had also been wrongly accused and that he stood behind him. Boger was let go from the gym on Wednesday.
