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LANSING, Mich. (AP) – A former U.S. Olympics gymnastics coach linked to disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar was charged on Thursday with turning his Michigan gym into a multi-year criminal enterprise by coercing girls to train under him, then verbally and physically abusing them.
John Geddert was indicted with two dozen crimes, including forms of human trafficking, a move prosecutors have recognized as an unusual use of Michigan law.
He is also 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 has claimed hundreds of victims. and upset USA Gymnastics.
Geddert, 63, 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.
Geddert is accused of recruiting minors for forced labor, a reference to the gymnasts he trained, according to documents filed in an Eaton County court.
A message requesting comment was left for Geddert’s lawyer. Attorney General Dana Nessel said the coach used “force, fraud and coercion” for financial gain.
“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.
The counts against Geddert include two counts of sexual assault against a teenager in 2012.
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.”
Deputy Attorney General Danielle Hagaman-Clark said the charges against Geddert “had little to do” with Nassar.
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.
“What a great best friend John was to Larry for giving him a whole world he could abuse so easily,” said Lindsey Lemke, now a coach at the University of Arkansas. “You certainly have a funny meaning in friendship. You, John Geddert, also deserve to sit behind bars right next to Larry.
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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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