A children’s gymnastics coach in Downers Grove has been charged with sex abuse and producing child pornography, in what authorities called a “heinous” case.
Wyatt Kopka, 30, who worked at Elite Sports Complex, faces 11 counts of child pornography possession and a count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim between 13 and 16 years old, according to court records.
Kopka, from Clarendon Hills, spent the last decade coaching children between 2 and 17 in Downers Grove, sometimes under the name Shannon D. Kopka, according to the DuPage County sheriff’s office.
Kopka was arrested May 10 on five counts of child pornography possession, and was charged with more counts as investigators analyzed his electronics, the sheriff’s office said.
He is being held at DuPage County Jail on $600,000 bail and was expected to appear in court again Thursday on the additional counts, the sheriff’s office said.
In a statement, Elite Sports Complex said it was “devastated” to learn about the allegations against Kopka, a former employee. The company said investigators have not yet found evidence that any criminal or improper physical offense happened at its gym.
But investigators were probing “inappropriate or possible criminal communication with several of our gymnastics students away from our facility,” the company said.
“There are no words to describe our great concern for our students and their families and our deep sense of betrayal,” the company said.
“Elite’s focus has always been on the well-being and safety of our participants and their families. All of our coaches, including former employee Wyatt Kopka, undergo routine background checks and safety training. In Kopka’s case, we followed AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) guidelines for coaches and did background checks every year. The most recent one was done in 2021 and nothing negative came up,” the company said.
If convicted, Kopka could face 47 to 120 years in prison.
“These are very heinous and sensitive cases, when the suspect is a person of trust or influence, that require a certain finesse as the allegations likely affect entire families and communities,” DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick said in the statement.
The sheriff’s office asked anyone with information to call its digital forensics unit at (630) 407-2312.
