Ex-Olympics women's gymnastics coach dies by suicide after sexual assault, human trafficking charge

A former US Olympics gymnastics coach with ties to disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar died by suicide hours after being charged with turning his Michigan gym into a hub of human trafficking by coercing girls to train and then abusing themJohn Geddert faced 24 charges that could have carried years in prison had he been convicted He was supposed to appear in an Eaton County court near Lansing but his body was found at a rest area along Interstate 96 according to state policeThis is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel saidNessel earlier announced that Geddert was charged with a bushel of crimes including sexual assault human trafficking and running a criminal enterprise The charges were the latest fallout from the sexual abuse scandal involving Nassar a former Michigan State University sports doctor now in prisonGeddert 63 wasnt arrested and transported to court Rather Nessels office allowed him to show up on his own We had no indication that Geddert intended to flee or hurt himself or others We had been in contact with his attorney and were assured of his cooperation Nessel spokeswoman Kelly RossmanMcKinney said Calls seeking comment from attorney Chris Bergstrom werent immediately returnedGeddert was head coach of the 2012 US womens Olympic gymnastics team which won a gold medal He was long associated with Nassar who was the Olympic teams doctor and also treated injured gymnasts at Twistars Gedderts Lansingarea gymAmong the charges Geddert was accused of lying to investigators in 2016 when he denied ever hearing complaints about Nassar But the bulk of the case against him involved 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 said Assistant Attorney General Danielle HagamanClarkGeddert was charged with using his strong reputation in gymnastics to commit a form of human trafficking by making money through the forced labour of young athletes The victims suffer from disordered eating Nessel said including bulimia and anorexia suicide attempts and attempts at selfharm excessive physical conditioning repeatedly being forced to perform even when injured extreme emotional abuse and physical abuse including sexual assaultMany of these victims still carry these scars from this behaviour to this day the attorney general said Nessel acknowledged that the case might not fit the common understanding of human traffickingWe think of it predominantly as affecting people of colour or those without means to protect themselves but honestly it can happen to anyone anywhere she said Young impressionable women may at times be vulnerable and open to trafficking crimes regardless of their stature in the community or the financial wellbeing of their familiesGeddert was suspended by Indianapolisbased USA Gymnastics during the Nassar scandal He told families in 2018 that he was retiringUSA Gymnastics said in a statement late Thursday that news about the charges against Geddert would lead to justice through the legal process With the news of his death by suicide we share the feelings of shock and our thoughts are with the gymnastics community as they grapple with the complex emotions of todays events the organization saidOn his LinkedIn page Geddert described himself as the most decorated womens gymnastics coach in Michigan gymnastics history He said his Twistars teams won 130 club championships But Geddert was often portrayed in unflattering ways when Nassars victims spoke during court hearings in 2018 Some insisted he was aware of the doctors abuseSarah Klein a gymnast who trained under Geddert for more than 10 years and was assaulted by Nassar said the coachs death was an escape from justice and traumatizing beyond words His suicide is an admission of guilt that the entire world can now see said Klein a lawyerRachael Denhollander the first gymnast to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual abuse in 2016 said she was proud of the women who stepped forward against Geddert So much pain and grief for everyone she said on Twitter after his death To the survivors you have been heard and believed and we stand with youThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever