LANSING, Michigan (AP) – A former U.S. Olympics gymnast related to dishonored sports doctor Larry Nassar was charged Thursday with turning his Michigan gym into a criminal enterprise for years forcing girls to train. getting under him and then verbally and physically abusing him.
John Geddert was charged with two dozen crimes, including forms of human trafficking, a step prosecutors recognized was an uncommon use of Michigan law.
He was also accused of lying by investigators in 2016 when he denied hearing complaints about Nassar, who is serving decades in prison for sexually assaulting female athletes in a scandal that claimed hundreds of lives and turned American gymnastics upside down.
Geddert, 63, coached the 2012 Women’s Gymnastics Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team, which won a gold medal. He has been related to Nassar for a long time, who was the doctor on the Olympic team and also treated injured gymnasts at the Twistars, the gym in Geddert’s Ledding area.
Geddert is accused of recruiting minors for forced labor, a reference to the gymnasts he trained, according to documents filed in an Eaton County court.
Geddert’s lawyer left a comment search message. Attorney General Dana Nessel said the coach used “force, fraud and coercion” to reap economic benefits.
“Victims suffer from disorderly eating,” Nessel said, “including bulimia and anorexia, suicide and self-harm attempts, excessive fitness, repeated obligation even when injured, extreme emotional abuse, and physical abuse, including sexual assaults “.
“Many of these victims still carry these scars from this behavior to the present day,” the attorney general said.
Charges against Geddert include two counts of sexual assault against a teenage girl in 2012.
Nessel acknowledged that the case might not fit the common knowledge of human trafficking.
“We believe it mainly affects people of color or those who don’t have the means to protect themselves … but honestly, it can happen to anyone and anywhere,” he said. “Impressive young women can sometimes be vulnerable and open to trafficking offenses, regardless of their height in the community or the financial well-being of their families.”
Deputy Attorney General Danielle Hagaman-Clark said the charges against Geddert “have very little to do” with Nassar.
Geddert was suspended by Indianapolis-based American 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 female gymnastics coach in the history of Michigan gymnastics.” He said his Twistars teams won 130 club championships.
But Geddert was often portrayed unflatteringly when Nassar’s victims spoke during court hearings in 2018.
“What a great best friend John was for Larry to give him a whole world where he could abuse so easily,” said Lindsey Lemke, now a coach at the University of Arkansas. “Surely you have a fun meaning of friendship. You, John Geddert, also deserve to sit behind bars next to Larry. “
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White reported from Detroit.
Nichols is a member of the body of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national non-profit services program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on covert issues.