Steve Penny Facts: Former USA Gymnastics Head Arrested On Tampering Charges

Steve Penny, former USA Gymnastics president, was arrested by a fugitive task force in Tennessee on Wednesday night, three weeks after he was indicted for tampering with evidence related to allegations of sexual assault against Dr. Larry Nassar, the team's former doctor.

The prosecutor's office said Wednesday night that Penny, indicted Sept. 28 by a Walker County, Texas, grand jury, was arrested Wednesday in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and is now awaiting extradition to Texas.

According to a summary of the indictment, Penny ordered the removal of documents from the Karolyi Ranch, the former site of the USA Gymnastics women's national training center, and also from one of the sites where some athletes say they were molested by Nassar. The indictment also alleges that Penny had the documents destroyed or hidden in an effort to impair the investigation. Source told the authorities some of the documents delivered to Penny at the USA Gymnastics' headquarters in Indianapolis remain missing, ABC 13 reported.

"The Texas Rangers and the detectives believe that those records are material to their investigation and that the removal of the records by Penny prevented them from reviewing documents that would have helped in their investigation of Nassar as well as assisted with the investigation of other offenses that may have occurred at the Karolyi Ranch," the indictment summary stated.

Edith Matthai, Penny's attorney said Penny and his family were on a vacation in Tennessee when he was arrested. "When he went to Tennessee on a vacation with his family, Mr. Penny had no knowledge there had been an indictment in Texas. He was arrested when a team of armored marshals suddenly arrived at the vacation cabin while he was sitting with his wife and three children,” Matthai said in an email to Chron.

"If Mr. Penny had any idea he was sought in Texas, this would have been appropriately handled through counsel without terrifying his family. Mr. Penny has not and would not have attempted to avoid the service of a summons. Mr. Penny is confident that when all the facts are known the allegations against him will be disproven,” she added.

In June, before a Senate Commerce subcommittee started investigating the scandal, some testified that Penny ordered six top USA Gymnastic officials to not discuss the Nassar case with anyone. He also allegedly waited for over five weeks to notify the FBI of the allegations against Nassar.

During the hearing, he also invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

"I would like to answer your question but I have been instructed by my attorney to assert my rights under the Fifth Amendment," Penny said in June, NBC News reported.

The tampering charge, a third-degree felony, carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison. Nassar was sentenced in February to 125 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to molesting 10 girls.

Penny graduated from the University of Washington in 1987 with a degree in speech and communications. He began working for USA Gymnastics in 1999 and resigned under pressure amid the Nassar scandal in March 2017. Upon resignation, he reportedly received a $1 million severance package. His tax records show he earned $557,000 in 2014 and $628,445 in 2015.

Prior to joining USA Gymnastics, he worked for several different organizations in marketing and promotions including USA Cycling. He presently lives in Fishers, Indiana, with his wife and three children.