Prosecutor argues Bull City Gymnastics coach 'normalized unwanted touching'

Court proceedings resumed on Wednesday involving the former owner of Bull City Gymnastics (BCG) with opening statements on both sides.

The accusers of a youth gymnastics coach facing several sex-related charges said the abuse lasted for years among four victims. Stephen Maness is charged with four counts of indecent liberties with a minor and sexual battery.

Durham County Assistant District Attorney Brooks Stone said Maness, who led BCG, repeatedly and systematically crossed the line into indecent touching with the gymnasts he coached.

Stone said the four alleged victims are now between 14 and 19 years old and that Maness "desensitized the girls to his physical touch" with things like hugs, massages and inappropriate touching.

Stone said Maness would put his hands on the victims' chests, butts and groins when spotting them. Stone said Maness' behavior included instances of pulling students onto his lap and sometimes tickling them.

“All the unnecessary and unwanted touching was constant and normalized,” Stone said.

Missy Owen, Maness' attorney, said Maness was a tough coach, but very technical and was detail-oriented when it came to his students' skills and safety. Owen contended that "touching is part of coaching high-level gymnastics."

"Coaching for these skills is hands on training," Owen said. "Hands on to keep them safe as they fly from bar to bar."

Owen argued the victims are “looking back at this with a lens of anger towards Stephen, with a lens of disappointment for gymnastics dreams that didn’t end the way they wanted them to.”

The defense also points to a parental viewing area in the gym, and a number of cameras.

"Cameras were all over this gym," Owen said. "You are going to see a lot of videos that were captured on those cameras."

Maness was indicted in February 2021, so this trial has been a long time coming. It almost didn't happen.

Late in 2022, Maness' defense team and the prosecution had come to a plea deal that reduced the felony charges to misdemeanor charges.

The judge raised concerns that Maness would not have to register as a sex offender, and referred the decision to another judge. The prosecution rescinded that deal.

The defense team pushed for the plea deal to be accepted, arguing the state couldn't take back its offer. That second judge disagreed.

Those original charges involved three young people under the age of 16.

One victim said the alleged abuse started in 2012 and lasted until 2020, and two said the alleged abuse went from 2015 to 2019.