A former gymnast who accused ex-Olympic coach John Geddert of abuse says she feels no closure after Geddert’s death.
In an interview with NBC News, Sarah Klein said she was relieved when Geddert was charged with dozens of counts of human trafficking and sexual assault. However, she felt devastated after he died by suicide.
“I don’t feel any closure at all,” she told the news outlet.
Klein accused Geddert of abusing her “physically, verbally, emotionally and psychologically” starting when she was 8 years old.
She told NBC that Geddert’s suicide was “ devastating and traumatizing, [but] there is no greater admission of guilt than John Geddert taking his own life. “
“It was his last act of narcissistic control that led him to live his life and coach his gymnasts for decades,” Klein told the news outlet.
Klein went on to say that Geddert has “always been above the law and the rules never apply to him,” adding that she believes his last act “was intended as an insult to the victims.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) announced on Thursday that her office had been informed that Geddert’s body was found “after robbing his own life.”
Geddert would be charged on Thursday at 2.15 pm.
“This is a tragic ending to a story for everyone involved,” Nessel said in a statement at the time.
The suicide took place after the attorney general filed 24 criminal charges against him, most of which related to human trafficking.
Nessel’s office claimed that Geddert subjected athletes to work in environments that caused injuries and neglect athletes’ injuries.
He was also charged with lying to investigators about the criminal sexual behavior of physician Larry Nassar, Geddert’s team physician. Nassar is currently in prison for decades for criminal sexual misconduct.
Klein told NBC that USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) should be held accountable.
The Hill has reached out to USA Gymnastics and USOPC for comment.