A 42-year-old Mandeville man who spent over a decade coaching young athletes at a local gymnastics facility is now facing serious criminal charges after St. Tammany Parish deputies say he exchanged inappropriate text messages with a minor.
Orry Mejia, who worked at North Shore Gymnastics from 2010 until August 2024, was taken into custody on May 1 and has since been released on bond.
The case draws attention not only because of its disturbing nature but also because of how long it took for authorities to gather enough evidence to make an arrest.
For a man who spent years in a position of trust around children, the allegations have shaken the tight-knit gymnastics community on the North Shore.
How the Case Unfolded
The sequence of events leading to Mejia’s arrest began in 2024, when a parent stumbled upon what she described as troubling text messages on her daughter’s phone.
Those messages, allegedly exchanged between her child and Mejia, prompted the parent to bring the matter to the owner of North Shore Gymnastics.
According to the gym’s owner, action was taken immediately. Mejia was fired after the parent flagged the inappropriate communication, ending his 14-year run at the facility.
The parent later reported the incident to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2025.
At that point, investigators reviewed what had been presented to them but concluded they did not have sufficient probable cause to seek an arrest warrant. The case sat without formal charges while detectives waited for more information to surface.
That break came more recently when the victim herself came forward with new details.
According to the sheriff’s office, the additional information she provided gave investigators what they needed to obtain a warrant. Mejia was subsequently arrested and booked into the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center.
The Charges and What Comes Next
Mejia now faces a total of five charges: two counts of felony sexual battery, one count of misdemeanor sexual battery, and two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile.
The combination of felony and misdemeanor counts suggests investigators believe the alleged conduct spanned different types of misconduct over time. His bond was set at $75,000, and he was released from custody shortly after his booking.
The charges carry serious consequences if he is ultimately convicted. Felony sexual battery in Louisiana can result in significant prison time, and crimes involving minors typically draw heightened scrutiny from both prosecutors and the courts.
The owner of North Shore Gymnastics cooperated with media inquiries and confirmed the timeline of Mejia’s employment and termination.
Her account lines up with what investigators have said publicly. The gym’s willingness to act swiftly in 2024 when the parent first raised concerns may have helped set the official investigation in motion, even if the legal process moved slowly in the months that followed.
Cases like this one tend to raise broader questions about how institutions that serve children monitor adult employees and communicate with families when concerns arise.
The fact that Mejia worked at the same gym for 14 years before the allegations emerged underscores how difficult it can be for parents and administrators to detect misconduct that happens outside the walls of the facility.
For now, Mejia is free on bond while the case moves through the St. Tammany Parish court system. Investigators have not publicly said whether additional victims may be involved.
Anyone with relevant information is encouraged to contact the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office directly.
