A former St. Charles gymnastics coach pleaded guilty to child pornography possession charges today.

Shawn C. Bowlden, 33, who had coached at the St. Charles Gymnastics Academy, 700 N. 17th St., admitted thousands of images and movies of child pornography found on his computer were his property.

After a tip from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, authorities arrested Bowlden Oct. 10. Police said there is no evidence suggesting Bowlden had an inappropriate relationship with any of his students.

Bowlden, who is free on $20,000 bond, must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, and during his  probation cannot use the Internet except to send and receive e-mail, and must not have any unsupervised contact with children under 18 years of age.

Bowlden will surrender himself to authorities at a later date to serve a 90-day sentence and a probation period. Additionally, Bowlden must take periodic lie detector tests and notify Kane County Court Services if he purchases a new computer, police said.

“Mr. Bowlden’s activities will be monitored for a long time,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a release.

Bowlden, who formerly resided at 900 S. Third St., will receive credit for time already served at the Kane County correctional facility.