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LANSING, Michigan (AP) – A former U.S. Olympics gymnastics trainer linked to disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar committed suicide on Thursday, hours after being accused of turning his Michigan gym into a trafficking in human beings by forcing girls to train and then abusing them. .
John Geddert faced 24 charges that could have resulted in years in prison if he had been convicted. He was supposed to appear in court in Eaton County, near Lansing, but his body was found in a rest area along Interstate 96, state police said.
“This is the tragic end of a tragic story for everyone involved,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
Nessel announced earlier that Geddert had been charged with a bushel of crimes, including sexual assault, human trafficking and running a criminal enterprise. The accusations were the last fallout the sexual abuse scandal involving Nassar, a former Michigan State University athletic doctor now in prison.
Geddert, 63, has not been arrested and brought to justice. Rather, Nessel’s office allowed him to present himself alone.
“We had no indication that Geddert intended to flee or hurt himself or other people. We had been in contact with his lawyer and were assured of his cooperation, ”said Nessel spokesperson Kelly Rossman-McKinney.
Calls seeking comment from lawyer Chris Bergstrom were not immediately returned.
Geddert was the head coach of the 2012 United States women’s Olympic gymnastics team, which won a gold medal. He has long been associated with Nassar, who was the Olympic team doctor and also treated injured gymnasts at Twistars, the Lansing area gymnasium in Geddert.
Among the charges, Geddert was accused of lying to investigators in 2016 when he denied ever hearing any complaints about Nassar. But the gist of the case against him revolved around his gym in Dimondale and the way he treated young athletes whose families had paid to train them under him.
The charges against Geddert had “very little to do” with Nassar, Deputy Attorney General Danielle Hagaman-Clark said.
Geddert has been accused of using his solid reputation in gymnastics to commit a form of human trafficking by earning money through the forced labor of young athletes.
“The victims suffer from eating disorders,” Nessel said, “including bulimia and anorexia, suicide attempts and self-harm, excessive physical conditioning, being forced into multiple occasions to do even with injury, extreme emotional abuse and physical abuse including sexual assault.
“Many of these victims still bear these scars from this behavior to this day,” the attorney general said.
Nessel acknowledged that the case may not fit with the common understanding of human trafficking.
“We think it mostly affects people of color or those who can’t afford to protect themselves … but honestly it can happen to anyone, anywhere,” she said. . “Impressionable young women can sometimes be vulnerable and exposed to trafficking crimes, regardless of their stature in the community or the financial well-being of their families.”
Geddert was suspended by Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics during the Nassar scandal. He told families in 2018 that he was retiring.
On her LinkedIn page, Geddert describes herself as “the most decorated female gymnastics coach in the history of gymnastics in Michigan”. He said his Twistars teams won 130 club championships.
But Geddert was often portrayed unflatteringly when Nassar’s victims spoke at court hearings in 2018. Some insisted he was aware of the doctor’s abuse.
Sarah Klein, a gymnast who trained under Geddert for over 10 years and was assaulted by Nassar, said the coach’s death was a ‘escape from justice’ and ‘traumatic beyond words’ .
“His suicide is an admission of guilt that the whole world can now see,” said Klein, a lawyer.
Rachael Denhollander, the first gymnast to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual abuse in 2016, said she was proud of the women who came forward against Geddert.
“So much pain and heartache for everyone,” she said on Twitter after her death. “To the survivors, you have been heard and believed, and we are with you.”
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White reported from Detroit.
Nichols is a member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative body. Report for America is a national, nonprofit service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on secret issues.
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