Former Prescott Valley gym owner accused of sexually abusing children

PRESCOTT VALLEY, AZ (AZFamily) — The former owner of a gymnastics gym in Prescott Valley is facing multiple charges of dangerous crimes against a child, including allegations of sexually abusing a child under the age of 15.

Prosecutors charged 47-year-old Michael Craig Andrew over the summer after a 14-year-old girl accused him of sexual abuse. He was bailed out over the summer after being arrested in July when the first charges were brought forward.

Those charges were dropped, but he now faces new charges.

On Friday, he was arrested during an arraignment and is being held on a bond of $75,000.

Andrew is facing 15 counts, including sexual abuse, indecent exposure and child molestation. Court documents show the allegations go as far back as 2015. He pleaded not guilty.

In court Friday, prosecutors said Andrew and the victim’s father were friends for over 20 years. Andrew was accused of reaching out to the father after he was first released on bail.

The judge Friday said if he is released again, he cannot contact the victim or her family, and he has to be supervised when spending time with anyone under 18 years old.

Andrew was the co-owner of a local gym, Arizona Dreams Gymnastics Academy. Court documents allege that’s where some of the abuse occurred.

Melanie Jayne said her 14-year-old daughter has been going to the gym for three years, and she said this was a complete shock.

“We were all caught off guard big time,” Jayne said. “Especially for my daughter because she’s known him for several years now, and when she first found out, she just kept saying but he’s so nice. It was just really heartbreaking.”

After the allegations came out, Andrew’s wife, Summer, posted on Facebook that Andrew was no longer the gym owner. She denied he was ever a coach and claimed he only opened the gym and worked the front desk.

Arizona’s Family reached out to Summer but has not yet heard back.

However, Jayne and other parents who contacted Arizona’s Family said there is more to this.

“He was there every week, and so he wasn’t just at the front desk,” Jayne said. “He would go out on the floor and talk to kids. And there’s a parent’s night out on the weekends, and he was in charge of that.”

She said she is worried about the future of this gym in a sport where trust between the children and coaches is so important. Jayne said the gym is the only reputable one in town, forcing many families to stay.

“Gymnastics is an intimate sport as it is,” Jayne said. “These girls are in leotards doing splits and you’re there at least three to four days a week for four and a half, five hours at a time. Her innocence is taken now because to she trusted him.”

Andrew will have a pretrial on Jan. 6, where a court date will picked.

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