U.S. Gymnastics Coach Dies by Suicide After Facing Abuse Charges

Former U.S. Olympics gymnastics coach John Geddert committed suicide Thursday after the Michigan attorney general’s office said he would be charged with sexual assault and multiple incidents of physical abuse against dozens of his young female athletes.

The complaint charged Geddert, who also owned the Lansing-area Twistars USA Gymnastics Club, with 24 counts in Eaton County District Court.

“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,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement.

The charges included one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a life offense felony, 14 counts of human trafficking, forced labor causing injury, and a count of a continuing criminal enterprise.

“Geddert’s treatment of young gymnasts constitutes human trafficking as he reportedly subjected his athletes to forced labor or services under extreme conditions that contributed to them suffering injuries and harm. Geddert then neglected those injuries that were reported to him by the victims and used coercion, intimidation, threats and physical force to get them to perform to the standard he expected,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement announcing the charges.

Prosecutors alleged that Geddert “sold his reputation as an Olympic-level coach and promised to unsuspecting parents that he could turn his students into world-class athletes, allowing them to secure college scholarships.”

Under the guise of coaching, prosecutors said in the charging statement, Geddert “subjected multiple young women to an environment of continued abuse, in which he also neglected advice of medical doctors—except that provided by Larry Nassar, who served for around 20 years as Geddert’s team physician and in-house medical expert at Twistars.”

The complaint also alleged that Geddert made false or misleading statements to authorities investigating Nassar for criminal sexual conduct.

The case is State v. Geddert, Mich. Dist. Ct., No. 21-0208, 2/25/21.