Court overturns Aurora coach's molestation conviction

Liz Cardamone said her two young sons often ask when their dad will be home.

The Aurora woman said Friday she finally has reason to give them hope.

The 2nd District Appellate Court overturned Michael P. Cardamone's conviction in a written opinion issued Thursday in which justices ordered the Aurora gymnastics coach receive a new trial.

In response, prosecutors said they will ask the Illinois Supreme Court to intervene. If the high court refuses, the 31-year-old imprisoned man may be set free on bond this summer to await a new trial.

More Coverage Video Cardamone family press conference

"Today, I told them, 'Daddy will be home soon,'" his wife, Liz, said. "I want the entire world to know that my husband's innocence will prevail in a fair and just trial."

His wife, mother, sister and about three dozen supporters appeared at a Friday news conference at his lawyer Kathleen Zellner's offices in Oak Brook. Zellner said Cardamone is buoyed by the news, but always had faith in the appeals process.

A DuPage County jury convicted him after an eight-week trial in 2005 of fondling seven girls under his tutelage at his family's American Institute of Gymnastics. The jury acquitted him of charges involving seven other girls.

Cardamone was serving a 20-year prison term at Taylorville Correctional Center. He would have been paroled in February 2016.

He maintained his innocence. After his conviction, he told the Daily Herald in a jail interview that he has a clear conscience.

"I didn't do this," he said. "I know everyone says that, but that doesn't mean that sometimes, when someone says it, it's not true."

In a 69-page opinion released Thursday, a three-judge panel found that DuPage Circuit Judge Michael Burke erred in allowing too much evidence -- 158 to 257 incidents -- of uncharged sexual conduct with the girls.

"The volume of the other-crimes evidence was overwhelming and undoubtedly more prejudicial than probative," wrote Appellate Justice Thomas Callum, a former chief DuPage County judge.

The appellate panel also took issue with Burke's decision to exclude a defense expert who would have testified how children can develop false memories through suggestive questioning.

Furthermore, the appellate decision found the jury should have been given an additional instruction regarding the need for a unanimous verdict.

DuPage State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said he is profoundly disappointed but hopes the Illinois Supreme Court will step in so the girls are spared another trial.

At least 19 girls have said Cardamone molested them. Some girls never pursued charges or their complaints were unfounded, but prosecutors charged the coach with fondling 14 of them.

A sequestered jury deliberated for 22 hours over three days before rendering the split verdict March 11, 2005, after a hard-fought trial with about 100 witnesses who testified 140 hours in 26 days.

His family has long supported him. His wife, Liz, was a fellow coach. His mother, Linda Lynch, owns the gym and school. His older sister, Alysha Millard, has been his biggest champion.

"Justice has touched an innocent man today," she said.

During the trial, prosecutors Michael Pawl and Alex McGimpsey painted Cardamone as a serial child molester who methodically manipulated his gymnasts so the young girls endured repeated abuse rather than betray him.

To corroborate the accusers, the prosecution called upon a 15th girl who wasn't connected to the gym who also said he fondled her during a tumbling class at an Aurora hospital.

The girls, one as young as 7, could not always recall absolutes and their stories evolved, but they held firm that Cardamone inappropriately touched them beneath their leotards, usually during stretching exercises.

The defense team, Jack Donahue and Joseph Laraia, called 86 other gymnasts, parents, teachers and coaches who said they never saw Cardamone make an inappropriate move. The defense said it all began with the first girl's wild imagination, spread through gossip, and developed into false memories because of suggestive questioning.

Both sides promised to continue their fight. There will be no deals, they said.

"Innocent men don't normally agree to plea negotiations," said Zellner, who handled the appeal.