Former gymnastics instructor charged with attempting to produce child pornography

A former El Dorado County gymnastics coach was charged Thursday with attempting to produce child pornography.

Keith Willette, 56, of Cameron Park is accused of having tried to produce pornography of an underage victim between May 2000 and April 2002, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

Willette faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to the release.

He had previously worked as a gymnastics instructor in Sacramento and El Dorado Counties, and in Ohio, Minnesota and Washington, and was arrested in May 2017 on suspicion of child molestation according to previous reporting by the Bee.

He was then accused of sexually abusing an underage pupil between 1999 and 2004.

He pleaded guilty in February 2018 and was later sentenced to three years and eight months in prison. One woman who testified said Willette had abused her when she was a 14-year-old while he worked at a Diamond Springs health club, according to previous reporting by the Mountain Democrat.

The Mountain Democrat reported that Willette took photos and videos of his naked victim and groped her.

This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 5:24 PM.