What we know about the Boerne coach accused of decades of sexual abuse
Content warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault.
Boerne and Kendall County officials said a local gymnastics coach recently charged with indecency with a child may have committed sexual abuse in his career going as far back as 1976. Michael Spiller, 74, has been working with children for the past six decades across the country, including other Texas cities such as Houston, Giddings, and Galveston.
Here’s what we know about Spiller.
Allegations at “Circus Arts for Kids” camp
In October 2022, the Boerne Police Department received a report of a sexual offense that occurred around 2001-2002, in which the victim was 12 to 13 years old. The suspect was identified as Spiller. According to the victim, the alleged offense occurred while attending a gymnastics summer camp in Boerne. The victim advised the camp was called “Circus Arts for Kids” and was held at the Boerne Gymnastics Center, located at 105 Stone Gate Road, Boerne, TX 78006.
According to an arrest affidavit, the victim said Spiller would transport a group of kids from the gymnastics center to a bed and breakfast. During the time on the bus, the victim said Spiller adjusted the review mirror and pointed it down to his genital area to expose himself to her and other girls while he sat in the driver’s seat.
The victim added that Spiller would masturbate when he exposed himself to the young girls on the bus.
Spiller would also allegedly record them secretly at the bed and breakfast. They found a camera angled toward their bathroom, which they discovered after noticing a red light between blankets on a shelf, the affidavit states.
The victim also reported to police that Spiller would grope her below the waist while coaching her in gymnastics. For the last 30 years, Spiller has been coaching at the “Circus Arts for Kids” at the Boerne Gymnastics Center.
Boerne police obtained an arrest warrant during its investigation, as well as a search warrant seeking a child pornography.
Spiller turned himself into the Kendall County Detention Center on November 18. He bonded out on Tuesday, November 29, but was arrested shortly thereafter on a second warrant for indecency with a child after another victim came forward, police said.
Other allegations
The Boerne Police Department released the timeline of Spiller’s career, dating back to its start in the 1970s at a beach boys club in California. In 1976, Spiller co-owned Gym-an-I Gymnastics in Houston. In the 1980s, he was a coach for the U.S. Jr. National Team in Luzern, Switzerland, and was a head coach at Santa Fe Gymnastics in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the 1990s, he was the head coach at Waimea Gymnastics Club in Waimea, Hawaii.
In the 2000s, he was a trainer for various schools, YMCAs, Boy and Girls Clubs, experiential learning groups, and daycare programs in Giddings, Houston, Galveston, and Boerne. Officials believe he was coaching in Boerne until May 2022.
Boerne police have spoken to multiple victims from the Houston area. According to the Houston Chronicle, one of the victims in Houston said she was 10 years old when Spiller sexually abused her at a gymnastics sleepover at the gym she joined in 1983. She said the coach snuggled with her on top of sleeping bags and began massaging her thighs and hip while commenting on her muscles. Then Spiller put his hand inside her underwear and massaged the outside of her genitals.
The Kendall County District Attorney’s Office said it is looking into if there are more victims that have not been identified yet. They are asking that anyone who Spiller has harmed, or has additional information, to contact Boerne Police Department detective James Vela at (830) 249-8645.
“To anyone who believes they are a victim of a crime committed by Mr. Spiller, we are here to help,” said Kendall County District Attorney Nicole Bishop at a conference on Tuesday, November 29. “It is our top priority to provide a safe, secure, and supportive environment. For those who may wish to come forward, it takes court courage to speak out and we will honor that courage.”
Who is Spiller?
For the past several decades, Spiller, who refers to himself in promotional materials as the “Doctor of Fun” and “Texas Games Guru,” has worked with youth organizations and schools in Central America, the United Kingdom, and Africa, as well as the United States. In Texas, he has interacted with thousands of children at games workshops and summer circus camps across the state.
According to a bio sent to MySA via Kendall County officials, Spiller grew up in Austin and moved to Houston as a young teen to later become a member of Bartosch Bounders Gymnastics Team in Bellaire, a city in southwest Harris County.
The Houston Chronicle reported Spiller ran in circles with people who became incredibly high-profile in the world of gymnastics in the 1970s and ’80s.
Among them were Béla and Marta Károlyi, former Olympic coaches who owned the Texas ranch where USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar would later abuse scores of gymnasts, as well as USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame inductee Jim Culhane and Gerald Bartosch, a former president of the Greater Houston Gymnastics Association and one of Spiller’s business partners.
On June 13, SafeSport issued a no-contact directive and temporarily suspended Spiller based on allegations of misconduct, according to information from the agency’s public disciplinary database. SafeSport is an independent center that was created in 2017 after the scandal involving Nassar revealed widespread abuse within the sport.
Boerne police said they believe he most recently coached at the local camp in May 2022.
