USA Climbing Speed Team Manager Arrested on Child Sexual Exploitation Charges

Matthew Maddison, USA Climbing’s Speed Team Manager and Strength and Conditioning Coach, was arrested on April 28, 2026, in Utah. He faces 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. The case has shaken a discipline still riding the momentum of its Olympic rise.

Matthew Maddison © USA Climbing

A grim case has landed at the center of American climbing. According to local outlets KSL, TownLift, and ABC4, Matthew Maddison, 37, USA Climbing’s Speed Team Manager and Strength and Conditioning Coach, was taken into custody following an investigation by the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. USA Climbing, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, immediately placed him on administrative suspension. The federation said that, at this stage, the alleged conduct appears unrelated to his USA Climbing duties. Still, the arrest of a national-level staff member raises an increasingly urgent question in elite sport: how to protect athletes from the very adults placed closest to them.

Crimes and Charges

The investigation reportedly began with a tip sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through a social media platform. The report flagged the alleged upload of CSAM, or child sexual abuse material. In plain terms: criminal material involving children. An IP address and email account allegedly led investigators to Utah. During a search of Maddison’s home on April 28, 2026, investigators say they identified more than 30 suspected child sexual abuse files that had been uploaded or shared through the account in question. According to the police affidavit cited by KSL and TownLift, Maddison allegedly acknowledged that the account and email address belonged to him.

The federation said that, at this stage, the alleged conduct appears unrelated to his USA Climbing duties

Maddison now faces 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony in Utah. If convicted, each count can carry a sentence of one to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Court documents also describe online exchanges in which he allegedly discussed abuse involving prepubescent children. ABC4 reported that investigators also noted Maddison worked directly with young athletes and regularly traveled internationally. At this stage, he is presumed innocent.

Maddison was not a peripheral figure in American climbing. USA Climbing officially listed him as the speed climbing team manager and strength and conditioning coach. In February 2024, the federation said he led a national speed camp in Salt Lake City with 24 of the country’s top speed specialists, including athletes who had already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics, among them Emma Hunt, Piper Kelly, and Sam Watson. There is no available evidence connecting those athletes to the alleged conduct. Their names matter here only because they show Maddison’s position inside the upper ranks of American high-performance climbing.

His role, documented by Tempus Magazine in July 2024, included managing schedules, travel, and national training plans. In a statement sent to local media, USA Climbing said it was “deeply troubled” by the allegations and had placed Maddison on unpaid administrative leave, while also saying it was cooperating with law enforcement.

From France to Indonesia, Athlete Protection Under Pressure

The case comes at a time when sports federations are under growing scrutiny over athlete safety. It also echoes several recent cases covered by Vertige Media. In France, on December 14, 2025, a member of the French national climbing team sent an email to all FFME members alleging that she had been sexually assaulted by another member of the national team. The facts are different, but both cases raise the same institutional question: how do federations respond when the people involved sit inside the highest levels of the sport?

Another recent case, this time in Indonesia, points to the same issue. In late January 2026, eight athletes from Indonesia’s national training center reportedly contacted federation president Yenny Wahid to report alleged sexual harassment and physical violence involving head coach Hendra Basir. The Indonesian climbing federation then placed him under provisional suspension. According to local media reports, that interim measure barred him from leading training sessions, entering the facilities, and communicating with athletes while the case was being reviewed.

USA Climbing, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, immediately placed him on administrative suspension

In the United States, USA Climbing relies on policies designed to govern interactions between adults and minor athletes. The federation also says its employees undergo background checks. But in a policy updated in October 2025, USA Climbing also notes that a background check with no disqualifying findings is not a “certification of safety.” It is a small but important line, and it quietly points to the limits of administrative safeguards.

These three cases are not the same. But each one puts sports institutions on the same narrow ledge: how do you protect complainants and other athletes without prejudging the outcome of a legal or disciplinary process? For now, the institutional responses all circle the same core issue: the role of immediate protection in environments built around performance, selection, and dependence on coaches and staff.

As Olympic climbing continues to professionalize, the Maddison case is a reminder that an institution’s maturity is not measured only by its ability to produce medals. It is also measured by its ability to prevent harm, respond to risk, and protect athletes. The next stage in the case against Matthew Maddison will now unfold in Utah’s courts.