Home United States USA — Criminal Ex-USA Gymnastics coach John Geddert kills himself after felony charges, including human...

Ex-USA Gymnastics coach John Geddert kills himself after felony charges, including human trafficking, sexual assault

224
0
SHARE

John Geddert killed himself Thursday, hours after he was charged with two dozen crimes stemming from allegations that he physically, emotionally and sexually abused gymnasts under his care.
Former USA Olympic gymnastics coach John Geddert died by suicide Thursday, hours after he was charged with two dozen crimes stemming from allegations that he physically, emotionally and sexually abused gymnasts under his care. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel confirmed that Geddert took his own life Thursday afternoon, calling his death “a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved.” Michigan state police confirmed that Geddert’s body was found at an interstate highway rest stop at 3:24 p.m. ET. Geddert,63, was scheduled to be arraigned in Eaton County, Michigan, on Thursday afternoon. Michigan state officials charged Geddert with 24 felonies: 20 counts of human trafficking and forced labor, one count of first-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree sexual assault, racketeering and lying to a police officer. A lawyer from the Michigan Attorney General’s office also said Thursday that Geddert knew disgraced Team USA doctor Larry Nassar was sexually abusing patients at the gym where both men worked and lied to police about it during a 2016 investigation into Nassar. The remainder of the charges against Geddert are all tied to his own behavior with gymnasts he coached at gyms he owned in Michigan. Law enforcement started investigating Geddert in February 2018 in the wake of complaints raised about his abusive coaching style during Nassar’s sentencing hearing. Court documents released Thursday allege that, among other things, Geddert in January 2012 digitally penetrated a girl who was between the ages of 13 and 16. Geddert previously owned Twistars USA Gymnastics in Dimondale, Michigan, just outside 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-century while both rose to the pinnacle of elite gymnastics. 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.

Continue reading...