John Geddert, former US gymnastics coach, is killed after criminal offenses, including human trafficking, sexual assault

Former U.S. Olympic gymnastics coach John Geddert died by suicide Thursday, hours after he was charged with two dozen crimes arising from allegations he abused physical, emotional and sexual gymnasts in his charge.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel confirmed that Geddert ended his life Thursday afternoon and called his death “a tragic end to a tragic story for all involved.”

Michigan State Police confirmed that Geddert’s body was found at a rest stop on the interstate at 3:24 p.m. ET.

Geddert, 63, was scheduled to be prosecuted Thursday afternoon in Eaton County, Michigan.

Michigan state officials charged Geddert with 24 felonies: 20 felony counts of human trafficking and forced labor, one of first-degree sexual assault, one of second-degree sexual assault, mock-ups and lies to an officer of police. A lawyer for the Michigan attorney general’s office also said Thursday that Geddert knew the disgraced U.S. team doctor, Larry Nassar, was sexually abusing patients at the gym where the two men worked and lied to the police during a 2016 investigation into Nassar.

The rest of the charges against Geddert are related to his own behavior with gymnasts he trained in gyms he had in Michigan. Law enforcement began investigating Geddert in February 2018 following complaints raised about his abusive coaching style during the Nassar sentencing hearing.

Judicial documents released Thursday allege that, among other things, Geddert in January 2012 digitally penetrated a girl who was between 13 and 16 years old.

Geddert previously owned Twistars USA Gymnastics in Dimondale, Michigan, on the outskirts of Lansing, where dozens of women say they were sexually assaulted by Nassar under the guise of medical treatment. Geddert and Nassar worked side by side for more than a quarter of a century, while both climbed to the top of elite gymnastics.

Geddert has long been considered within the gymnastics community as one of Nassar’s top facilitators. As early as the late 1980s, at Lansing’s Great Lakes Gymnastics Club, even before becoming a licensed physician, Nassar began sexually assaulting underage gymnasts at his training table, according to reports from several women.

Geddert gained prominence in the early 2000s and was named coach of the 2012 London Olympics. His role as national coach led him to travel around the world with the best gymnasts. Americans. Many of these gymnasts, including all the members of the famous Fierce Five who won gold in London, say that Nassar mistreated them during his international travels.

Former Olympian McKayla Maroney says she was riding in a car with Geddert on one of those international trips to Tokyo during the 2011 World Championships. During the car ride, Maroney gave a graphic description of how Nassar had touched him so inappropriate during a treatment session the night before, according to several people who heard his statements. Geddert did not react at the time, according to reports from the car’s passengers, but has since denied hearing Maroney’s comments.

USA Gymnastics suspended Geddert during the hearing of Nassar’s sentencing in January 2018, amid a flood of public complaints from former gymnasts about his abusive coaching style. Geddert announced he would retire from coaching days after being 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 arising from the Nassar case. Former U.S. Gymnastics CEO Steve Penny was arrested on charges of manipulating evidence in 2018. In Michigan State, where Nassar worked, former president Lou Anna Simon, former dean of William Medical School Strampel and former gymnastics coach Kathie Klages were charged with crimes. Strampel, a former Nassar chief, was charged with misconduct in office and intentional neglect of his post and served an eight-month sentence of one year in prison before being released last spring. Klages was found guilty of lying to police in August 2020 and sentenced to 90 days in prison. Accusations of lying against police against Simon were dismissed in May 2020, but the attorney general is appealing that decision, Nessel said Thursday.

Nassar, 57, is currently serving a 60-year prison sentence for child pornography charges in a federal prison near Orlando, Florida, but is also facing an additional maximum of up to 175 years in prison for his sentences for state charges in Ingham and Eaton County Michigan. Earlier this month, Nassar appealed his case to the Michigan Supreme Court. Nessel said Thursday that Nassar’s trial court ruling should be upheld, describing it as “a fair and just sentence.”