Former Zionsville gymnastics instructor sentenced to 40 years in prison for molestation

ZIONSVILLE — A former Zionsville gymnastics coach has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of three counts of child molestation.

Kenneth Arnold, 34, of Crawfordsville will serve 40 years in prison and faces 10 years of supervised probation following the prison sentence.

Charges against Arnold, which he was convicted of in September, stemming from a series of acts committed between January 2014 and December 2016.

The specific allegations against Arnold, in this case, came to light in 2020 after a juvenile victim disclosed the abuse to authorities.

At the time of the crimes, the juvenile was younger than 14.

Arnold had previously been the subject of two investigations in 2016 of other sex crime-related charges that were alleged to have occurred during the same time period of these charges.

One of the cases went to trial and the jury was unable to reach a verdict. In the second case, a plea agreement was reached after consultation with the parents of the victims.

“The Defendant has finally been held accountable for the heinous acts he committed,” Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood said. “We are grateful for the courage demonstrated by the young victim in this difficult case.

Due to the nature of the offense, Arnold was also determined to be a Sexual Violent Predator and will have heightened restrictions and registry requirements for life once released from prison.