Tampa Man gave steroids to skating son

By Times Staff Writer
Published August 28, 2007

A man pleaded guilty in federal court to giving his 13-year-old son steroids while the boy trained to compete internationally on a roller-skating team.

James Edward Gahan, 41, formerly of Lady Lake, entered his plea on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas B. McCoun III.

A sentencing date has not been set, but Gahan faces a minimum of one year in federal prison. The maximum he could get is a 10-year sentence.

Federal court documents say that Gahan's son began competing as an amateur inline roller skater in competitions organized by USA Roller Sports in 2002. Gahan would take his son to storefront clinics called the Pasco Medical Center or Physicians Wellness Institute to receive anabolic steroid injections, which federal prosecutors say Gahan also received.

Federal prosecutors say Gahan gave his son steroids and other performance-enhancement drugs until at least August 2005, when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency tested the boy and found the drugs in his system. The boy was training to qualify for USA Roller Sports' junior national team, to represent the United States at an international competition in China.

The investigation also led to the arrests of John Todd Miller, who operated Pasco Medical Center and Physicians Wellness Institute in Pasco County, and Phillip C. Pavicic, a skating trainer, for supplying the boy with steroids.

In 2005, a judge sentenced Pavicic to six months in federal prison. Miller's sentencing hearing has been delayed several times, but he's scheduled to go before a judge on Sept. 19.

[Last modified August 28, 2007, 00:00:47]