Ex-USA Gymnastics coach dies by suicide after being charged with abusing athletes
Former USA Gymnastics coach John Geddert was found dead by suicide hours after 24 charges related to human trafficking and alleged abuse of athletes were filed against him, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel confirmed Thursday.
"My office has been notified that the body of John Geddert was found late this afternoon after taking his own life," Nessel said in a statement obtained by Kim Kozlowski of the Detroit News. "This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved."
Geddert was scheduled to turn himself in at his arraignment in Eaton County, Michigan, on Thursday afternoon, but never showed up to the hearing, Nessel spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney told Kozlowski. State police found his body at a highway rest stop around 3:30 p.m. ET, a little over an hour after he was supposed to be in court, according to Kozlowski.
Nessel's office announced 24 criminal charges against Geddert on Thursday morning. He was alleged to have committed "at least one sexual assault and multiple incidents of physical abuse against dozens of his young female athletes."
Geddert, who was 63, had ties to disgraced former national team and Michigan State team doctor Larry Nassar. The following felony charges had been filed against Geddert:
- 14 counts of human trafficking, forced labor causing injury
- Six counts of human trafficking of a minor for forced labor
- One count of continuing criminal enterprise
- One count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct
- One count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct
- One count of lying to a peace officer during a violent crime investigation
Geddert served as head coach of the U.S. women's national team at the 2012 Olympics. The women captured the gold medal in three events, including the team all-around event.
The human trafficking charges related to allegations that Geddert "subjected his athletes to forced labor or services under extreme conditions that contributed to them suffering injuries and harm," neglected the injuries, and used "coercion, intimidation, threats, and physical force to get (athletes) to perform," according to the attorney general's office.
At the club level, Geddert ran Twistars USA Gymnastics Club near Lansing, Michigan, from 1996 until transferring ownership to his wife, Kathryn, in 2018. The organization was sold to new owners earlier in February, according to the Lansing State Journal's Rachel Greco.
The attorney general's announcement added: "Under the guise of coaching, (Geddert) reportedly subjected multiple young women to an environment of continued abuse in which he also neglected advice of medical doctors - except that provided by Larry Nassar, who served for around 20 years as Geddert's team physician and in-house medical expert at Twistars."
Nassar, 57, is serving a 60-year sentence after pleading guilty to federal child pornography charges in July 2017, plus subsequent sentences at the state level ranging from 45-175 years after pleading guilty to sexual assault charges in January and February 2018.