Former coach’s sexual assault trial now in jury’s hands
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The fate of Shannon Guay, a former gymnastics and dance coach accused of sexually assaulting girls in Kent County, is now in the hands of a jury.
The case was sent to the jury for deliberations Thursday after days of emotional testimony from women who say they were sexually abused by Guay years ago, when they were minors.
Testimony begins in ex-coach’s sexual assault trial
Guay, 50, is charged with 22 counts of sexual assault and one count of kidnapping.
He was arrested in Florida in May 2023 after a woman came forward with allegations against him. After his arrest, additional women came forward to say they were victimized by Guay.
Women detail ex-gymnastics coach’s pattern of abuse
In closing statements to jurors on Thursday, Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Bartlett said Guay targeted girls and groomed girls in places that should have been safe havens, ranging from homes to rock-climbing facilities.
Bartlett said Guay was in a position of trust but abused that trust, making the safe havens “places of fear, confusion and pain.”
“It was his job to keep these kids safe,” Bartlett said in her closing statements. “And we’re talking gymnastics, rock climbing, karate. His job was to teach these kids how to protect themselves from the monsters of the world. Isn’t that ironic?”
Defense attorney Mark P. Hunting questioned how some of the reported sexual assaults could have happened at a gymnastics facility “in full view of others.”
In one case, Guay conceded to having sex with a woman who accused him but said it was consensual and happened when she was of legal age.
Some of the allegations would have occurred when Guay was in the military and not in the area, Hunting told jurors.
“This case is exclusively a ‘she said, he said’ case,” Hunting said. “And in order to find my client guilty, you’re going to have to determine who do you believe.
“Put the pieces together,” Hunting told jurors. “I think if you do that, the only reasonable conclusion that you’re going to come to is that (Guay) is not guilty of all 23 of the charges they brought against him.”
Jury deliberations will continue Friday morning.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
