Gymnastics Coach Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Students Likely Has More Victims: Report

A Texas gymnastics coach who was arrested last week on sexual misconduct charges is now connected to another state, Radar has learned.

Michael Spiller, 75, was arrested last week after being accused of inappropriately touching his student, and now police believe there are victims in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area. Five people, including children, had previously come forward with allegations against Spiller.

“Given that there are allegations coming out of Kendall County from the early 2000′s up until 2022 when my client is bringing hers, it’s my understanding that there are going to be more claims and allegations coming forward over the next few months,” attorney Meredith Stratigopoulos said.

Stratigopoulos represents a 9-year-old girl who recently filed a lawsuit saying that Spiller put his hand under her leotard in April. “What’s really fascinating is that kids are really intuitive. Kids know when something is right and know when something is wrong especially when it comes to their own body. But oftentimes what they don’t see and don’t understand is that when they come forward and say that something is wrong, that’s when there’s a possibility for change to happen,” Stratigopoulos said.

Spiller has worked with students in Texas, California and overseas. Posts on Facebook state that Spiller hosted training at Leaps and Bounds in Denham Springs in 2017 an 2019.

“There has been some recent development in a court case, based in Texas that has mentioned Leaps & Bounds in the media, and we would like to address some details of the so-called connections between Leaps & Bounds and Mr. Mike Spiller. Mike Spiller led staff training with members of our summer camp staff in 2017 and 2019. He never was employed at Leaps & Bounds as a coach or staff member, and never worked with any of our students. As a concerned community member, we are watching the case and are interested in the outcome of justice. We can’t comment on what has or has not happened in other places, only our facility. In our facility, anyone who works with our students is background checked and also submits personal and professional references. We are very cautious about who works with our children. We have been a part of the Livingston Parish community for 24 years. We love and protect our children," Leaps & Bounds said in a statement.

Stratigopoulos said Spiller could possibly be linked to other cases.

“Sure. I think it’s possible that based on what is available on his website, he was working throughout the country with different gymnastics centers and hosting his own camps with different organizations. He lists on his website the Boys and Girls Club and YMCA, said Stratigopoulos. “He was teaching all over the country and I would expect anywhere that he was that he had access to a minor and there should be a question about what happened in that interaction.”