Ex-Olympics Gymnastic Coach Kills Self Amid Charges

John Geddert, 63, was linked to the imprisoned Larry Nassar
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 25, 2021 3:53 PM CST
Updated Feb 25, 2021 4:04 PM CST
Disgraced Gymnastics Coach Dead in Suicide
John Geddert watches the American Cup gymnastics meet in New York in 2012.   (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

A former US Olympics gymnastics coach with ties to disgraced sport doctor Larry Nassar died by suicide Thursday after being charged with two dozen crimes, including forms of human trafficking, the state attorney general said, per the AP. The announcement from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel came about three hours after a news conference where Nessel announced that John Geddert was charged with 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. Geddert was accused of turning his Michigan gym into a yearslong criminal enterprise by coercing girls to train under him and then verbally and physically abusing them.

He was accused of lying to investigators in 2016 when he denied ever hearing complaints about Nassar, who is serving decades in prison for sexually assaulting female athletes in a scandal that counted hundreds of victims and turned USA Gymnastics upside down. Geddert, 63, was head coach of the 2012 US women’s Olympic gymnastics team, which won a gold medal. He has long been associated with Nassar, who was the Olympic team's doctor and also treated injured gymnasts at Twistars, Geddert’s Lansing-area gym. Geddert was accused of recruiting minors for forced labor, a reference to the gymnasts he coached, according to documents filed in an Eaton County court. The charges against Geddert included two counts of sexual assault against a teen in 2012.

(More USA Gymnastics stories.)

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