LANSING, Mich. (AP) – A former U.S. Olympic gymnastics coach with ties to disgraced sports physician Larry Nassar committed suicide on Thursday hours after being accused of turning his Michigan gym into a center of human trafficking by forcing girls to exercise and then abuse.
John Geddert was facing 24 charges that could have included years in prison if convicted. He was supposed to appear before a court in Eaton County, near Lansing, but his body was found at a resting place off Interstate 96, according to state police.
“This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
Nessel previously announced that Geddert has been charged with a bushel of crimes, including sexual assault, human trafficking and running a criminal business. The allegations were the final consequences of the sexual abuse scandal involving Nassar, a former Michigan State University sports physician who is now in prison.
Geddert, 63, was not arrested and taken to court. Instead, Nessel’s office allowed him to come alone.
“We had no indication that Geddert intended to flee or hurt himself or others. We had been in contact with his lawyer and assured of his cooperation, ”said Nessel spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney.
Calls for comment from attorney Chris Bergstrom were not immediately answered.
Geddert was head coach of the 2012 Olympic women’s gymnastics team, which won a gold medal. He was long associated with Nassar, who was the Olympic team’s doctor and also treated injured gymnasts at Twistars, Geddert’s Lansing-area gym.
Among the charges, Geddert was charged with lying to investigators in 2016 when he denied ever hearing complaints about Nassar. But most of the case against him related to his gym in Dimondale and how he treated the young athletes whose families paid to have them train under him.
The charges against Geddert had “very little to do” with Nassar, Assistant Attorney General Danielle Hagaman-Clark said.
Geddert was accused of using his strong reputation in gymnastics to commit some form of human trafficking by earning money from the hard labor of young athletes.
“The victims suffer from eating disorders,” said Nessel, “including bulimia and anorexia, suicide attempts and self-harm attempts, excessive physical conditioning, being repeatedly forced to perform even when injured, extreme emotional and physical abuse, including sexual assault. .
“Many of these victims still bear these scars from this behavior to this day,” said the attorney general.
Nessel acknowledged that the case may not fit the common understanding of human trafficking.
“We mainly think of it as people of color or people with no means of protecting themselves … but frankly, it can happen to anyone, anywhere,” she said. “Young impressionable women can at times be vulnerable and open to trafficking crimes, regardless of their status in the community or the financial well-being of their families.”
Geddert was suspended by the Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics during the Nassar scandal. He told families in 2018 that he was retiring.
On his LinkedIn page, Geddert described himself as the ‘most decorated women’s gymnastics coach in Michigan’s gymnastics history.’ He said his Twistars teams have won 130 club championships.
But Geddert was often portrayed in an unflattering way when Nassar’s victims spoke at hearings in 2018. Some insisted that he was aware of the doctor’s abuse.
Sarah Klein, a gymnast who trained under Geddert for over 10 years and was attacked by Nassar, said the coach’s death was an “escape from justice” and “traumatizing without words.”
“His suicide is a confession of guilt that the whole world can now see,” said Klein, a lawyer.
Rachael Denhollander, the first gymnast to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual abuse in 2016, said she was proud of the women who came forward against Geddert.
“So much pain and sorrow for everyone,” she said on Twitter after his death. “For the survivors: you have been heard and believed, and we are with you.”
White reported from Detroit.
Nichols is a member of the Corps for the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national nonprofit service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on hidden issues.