EATON COUNTY, Mich. — John Geddert, the former U.S. Olympic gymnastics coach charged with several crimes including human trafficking, died by suicide, the Michigan attorney general’s office said Thursday.
Geddert, 63, was set to be arraigned Thursday afternoon after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said he had been expected to turn himself in. Nessel’s office told The Detroit News that he did not surrender to authorities.
She released the following statement:
My office has been notified that the body of John Geddert was found late this afternoon after taking his own life. This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved.
No other details have been released, FOX17 reported.
Geddert was charged Thursday in Michigan. Prosecutors said that he is also accused of lying to investigators about hearing complaints about disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, who is serving multiple decades-long prison sentences for sexually assaulting female athletes under the impression of medical treatment. Nassar also treated injured athletes at Geddert’s Michigan gym.
The former Olympic coach was charged with first- and second-degree criminal sexual assault, 20 counts of human trafficking, forced labor, six counts of human trafficking of a minor, forced labor, operating a criminal enterprise, and lying to police.
Prosecutors acknowledged that the human-trafficking charges were uncommon use of Michigan law, Fox News reported.
“We think of it predominantly as affecting people of color or those without means to protect themselves … but honestly it can happen to anyone, anywhere,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “Young impressionable women may at times be vulnerable and open to trafficking crimes, regardless of their stature in the community or the financial well-being of their families.”
Nessel added: “It is alleged that John Geddert used force, fraud and coercion against young athletes that came to him for gymnastics training for financial benefit to him. The victims suffered from disordered eating, including bulimia, anorexia, suicide attempts and self-harm, excessive physical conditioning, repeatedly being forced to perform, even when injured, extreme emotional abuse and physical abuse, including sexual assault.”
Geddert was the head coach of the 2012 U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team, which won a gold medal thanks to the superb performances from Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney.
Geddert has long been viewed within the gymnastics community as one of Nassar’s chief enablers. As far back as the late 1980s, at Great Lakes Gymnastics Club in Lansing, before he was even a licensed physician, Nassar began sexually assaulting minor gymnasts on his training table, according to the accounts of multiple women, ESPN reported.
Geddert rose to national prominence in the early 2000s and was named the U.S. national team coach for the 2012 London Olympics. His role as a national coach led him to travel around the globe with America’s top gymnasts. Many of those gymnasts, including all members of the famed Fierce Five who won gold in London, say Nassar abused them during their international trips.
Maroney says she was in a car with Geddert on one such international trip, in Tokyo during the 2011 World Championships. During the car ride Maroney gave a graphic description of how Nassar had touched her inappropriately during a treatment session the night before, according to multiple people who overheard her remarks. Geddert didn’t react at the time, according to the accounts of the passengers in the car but has since denied overhearing Maroney’s comments, according to ESPN.
USA Gymnastics suspended Geddert during Nassar’s sentencing hearing in January 2018 amid a flood of public complaints from former gymnasts about his abusive coaching style. Geddert announced he was retiring from coaching days after he was suspended by USA Gymnastics. He transferred ownership of Twistars USA to his wife and coaching partner in 2018. The gym was sold to new owners earlier this month.
Geddert was the fifth person to face criminal charges that stem from the Nassar case.
