Matthew Shriver at his detention hearing with attorney John Zarych.
A Brigantine man accused of having a sexual relationship with his 14-year-old gymnastics student has been indicted, BreakingAC confirmed.
Matthew Shriver, now 52, was indicted in February on seven counts, including first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree endangering-sexual conduct with a child and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.
Galloway Township police began investigating after receiving a report of inappropriate behavior between the coach and a gymnast at Everest Gymnastics and Tumbling owned by Shriver and his wife with locations in Galloway and Mays Landing.
The reporting parent — who is not the parent of the victim — said she was told Shriver texted the girl that she "looked really hot" when she bends over and the woman also believed Shriver had a photo of the victim in her bra.
The victim's father turned over her cell phone, and the girl later told investigators that the two had sex, including at the gym. A piece of a mat where she indicated the two had sex before the gym opened in the morning was taken as evidence.
Shriver has been jailed since Nov. 17. He was held after consenting to detention rather than fighting the state's motion.
Defense attorney John Zarych told the judge at the time that he had explained to his client the high burden they would need to overcome to get him released, and Shriver agreed to be held.
Shriver appeared briefly in court Monday for a conference hearing. Zarych said they still are waiting for full discovery from the state. He would not comment on whether he expects the case to go to trial.
The charges include fourth-degree counts of obstruction and tampering with evidence, after Shriver allegedly refused to turn his cell phone over to police and then ran from them before he was taken into custody.
His phone and smart watch were seized, and his vehicle towed.
Shriver is banned from working by USA Gymnastics.
It's not the first time the organization limited Shriver.
He was restricted from unsupervised contact with minors in 2017, after an allegation of "inappropriate spotting" was made to USA Gymnastics, BreakingAC previously reported.
An investigation — which included Galloway Township police detectives speaking with his wife that October — did not result in any charges. No parent ever came forward or signed a complaint, and the restriction was dropped.
