Plea deal on hold for former NC gymnastics coach accused of sexual crimes against girls
A plea deal is on hold for a former Triangle gymnastics coach charged with sexual crimes against three young girls, according to court documents.
Stephen Maness, 40, of Chapel Hill, was charged in 2021 with three counts each of sexual battery and taking indecent liberties with a child, all felonies, related to his interactions with three girls under the age of 16 between 2012 and 2020 in Durham County, according to court documents.
This month, Maness also was charged with misdemeanors: three counts each of assault on a child under 12 and assault on a female, along with one count of child abuse.
Court documents don’t indicate where the interactions occurred.
WRAL reported in February 2021 that Maness was a coach and owned Bull City Gymnastics on Neal Road. The News & Observer contacted Bull City Gymnastics, but no one was immediately available to comment.
In March 2021, Maness’s USA Gymnastics membership was revoked.
Plea deal details
On Monday, Maness signed a plea arrangement that would have dismissed the felonies in exchange for him pleading guilty to three counts of misdemeanor child abuse. The deal would have sentenced him to five years supervised probation.
The plea called for two consecutive sentences of 60 days each, which would have been suspended for the probation that prohibited Maness from having contact with the victims and gymnastics facilities.
It also would have prevented him from taking a job supervising children under the age of 18.
The plea doesn’t mention Maness having to register on the North Carolina sex offender registry. A note on the court file indicates the judge also wanted him to get sex offender treatment and counseling, but it’s not clear whether others agreed to that provision.
However, the plea didn’t take place.
A note from a court clerk in Maness’s file indicates the judge didn’t accept the plea.
“Judge Sturges could not accept!” says a note in the file.
Judge Cynthia Sturges is a visiting judge who represents a judicial district that includes Franklin, Granville and Vance counties.
Sarah Willets, a spokesperson for the Durham County District Attorney’s Office, said the case was continued until April.
“My understanding is that it wasn’t outright rejected,” she said, but that the plea wasn’t entered.
Willets said that she can’t provide additional information.
The News & Observer reached out Monday to Sturges and Maness’s defense attorney for clarification, but neither has replied.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 10:22 AM.
