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COURTS Gymnastics coach Bettman faces 25 years for recording girls undressing Comment By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil Posted Aug. 10, 2016 at 10:44 AM Updated Aug 10, 2016 at 5:59 PM By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil Posted Aug. 10, 2016 at 10:44 AM Updated Aug 10, 2016 at 5:59 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Gymnastics teacher admits to porn charges • Former Medford gymnastics coach arrested again on child pornography charges... • Alleged victims watch bail hearing • Former coach faces further child-porn charges • Gymnastics coach faced sex abuse allegations before • Gymnastics students allegedly were filmed » Social News Federal prosecutors say a Medford gymnastics coach who secretly filmed young female athletes as they undressed, amassing a collection of the footage for almost two decades, should spend 25 years in prison. Jeffrey Scott Bettman, who pleaded guilty to 13 child pornography-related charges in January, was scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. Thursday in U.S. District Court in Medford. In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors call Bettman "a sexual predator who has been been secretly videotaping underage girls changing their cloths (sic) for almost two decades." Investigators found 49 victims from Oregon and California, all minors and some as young as age 8, court documents say. "Mr. Bettman not only traded in child pornography, he attempted to create his own using the athletes he coached," the memorandum reads. "He violated their trust and the trust of the entire community." Bettman's defense team is seeking a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence, the memorandum states. Bettman's case began in June 2011, when the Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force discovered child pornography on a computer with Bettman's IP address during an ongoing investigation. Officers served a search warrant at his home, seizing multiple devices, including six video cameras, a laptop, a desktop computer, smartphone, 20 DVDs and CDs containing videos of gymnasts — labeled with their initials — and a thumb drive. "He had an extensive video collection — 469 videos in total — of the female athletes changing their clothes," the memorandum reads. "He captured the girls, who were unaware they were being recorded, in various stages of undress." The document adds that Bettman transferred the videos to his computer and manipulated them to create still shots that focused on the victims' breasts and genitals. Investigators recovered 220 such images. He did not circulate the images, the document states. Prosecutors say Bettman started the behavior in California by putting a camera in his office and having the girls change there before practice. In Southern Oregon, he also worked as a sports photographer, creating a changing room for the athletes and filming them with a hidden camera. He worked at the Rogue Valley School of Gymnastics in Medford in 2004, then went on to work for Southern Oregon Gymnastics Academy in 2005 after RVSG closed, according to company officials. He was fired in 2008 for undisclosed reasons. He then worked for Unlimited Sports Gymnastics Center in Grants Pass until he was arrested on state charges in November 2012. Federal charges were filed in 2014 and Bettman has remained in jail without bail since. Police said Bettman possessed an additional 125 videos and 450 images of child pornography he had downloaded over the Internet. The memorandum says Bettman fantasized about having sex with the victims "but stated he would never act on those fantasies." Athletes interviewed said they referred to Bettman as a father figure who hugged the girls and let them sit on his lap. He also gave back massages to some of the girls. "Mr. Bettman has faced accusations and complaints in the past," the memorandum says. "In each instance, he moved on, blamed his victims, and convinced his next set of victims that he could be trusted." State court records show Bettman still has an open separate case in Jackson County, where he faces 30 child pornography-related charges. Jackson County Deputy District Attorney Terry Smith-Norton said there is nothing in the federal case that ties in the state's charges, and that the state will proceed with its own case. Court records show a pretrial conference for the state case is scheduled for Sept. 26. Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected]. Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil Posted Aug. 10, 2016 at 10:44 AM Updated Aug 10, 2016 at 5:59 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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