Parents of gymnast get emergency hearing
HOUSTON (AP) - A judge has granted the parents of Olympic gold-medal gymnast Dominique Moceanu an emergency hearing to determine if she is under the improper influence of three people who formerly worked at a gym owned by her parents.
The gymnast, who turned 17 on Sept. 30, filed suit Oct. 19 seeking to be certified as an adult and placed in charge of the money she has earned in her seven-year professional career. She accused her father of squandering the money - partly by using her money to buy a gymnasium.
Dumitru and Camelia Moceanu asked for a hearing to determine if their daughter is safe. The hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.
The parents claimed in their request for the emergency hearing that Dominique's court-appointed attorney left their daughter under the influence of an undocumented immigrant and two men of questionable motives.
The three who have helped her hide since she ran away Oct. 17 from her parents' home in the Houston suburb of Spring are Luminita Miscenco, 26, her gymnastics coach; Brian Huggins, 32, a friend; and Jeff Pudlo, 23.
Miscenco and Pudlo, who coached at the Moceanu gym, were fired the day Dominique ran away.
The parents claim that Miscenco, whom Dominique credits with reviving her sagging career, "is currently illegally in the United States and may be subject to deportation immediately."
The gymnast's father is Miscenco's sponsor for her work visa.
Dominique told the Houston newspaper she is confident Miscenco will be allowed to stay in the United States to coach her.
Janice Ward, a friend and former masseuse of Dominique, claimed in an affidavit filed to support the request for the emergency hearing that Dominique has had a relationship with the 32-year-old Huggins since she was 15.
"Brian Huggins began a relationship with Dominique Moceanu when she was 15 years old and he was 31 years old," the woman said. "I counseled her about this relationship, because of the age difference and the fact that he was a married man and his wife never was with him."
The gymnast, who moved into her own apartment this weekend, said Monday that Ward's statement was "totally not fair.
"This has gone way over the limit, how can somebody stoop so low?" she told the Houston Chronicle.
Dominique said Ward used to massage her after workouts and was one of the few adult friends her parents allowed her to have.
Huggins, a family friend who provided professional services for the Moceanus when they built their gym in Spring, said the only reason he is helping is to ensure Dominique's safety.
"As a parent I made the decision I wouldn't leave her out on the street," Huggins said. "I think any parent would want somebody doing that for their children."
The parents claim that Miscenco, Huggins and Pudlo have conspired to influence Dominique to run away.
"Dom made this decision on her own free will," Pudlo said.
Dominique's court-appointed attorney, Ellen Yarrell, has proposed that a third party oversee her trust fund so she would not spend the money unwisely.
The attorney said the girl's parents refused, saying it was a "family matter."
The gymnast also said she had always assumed she would have access to the trust fund when she turned 18, but was shocked to read in a newspaper last week that she would not have access to it until age 35.
The hearing on her request to be certified an adult is scheduled for Nov. 11, but a request to delay that hearing will be heard Nov. 4, as well as a request to have the entire matter dropped.