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. "Earlier Thursday, Nessel had announced a 24-count complaint against Geddert, who owned a training facility near Lansing, Michigan, where convicted sex offender Larry Nassar served as the gym doctor.
The complaint included sexual assault charges involving an unnamed athlete between the ages of 13 and 16, and alleged that Geddert's treatment of young gymnasts constituted human trafficking "as he reportedly subjected his athletes to forced labor or services under extreme conditions that contributed to them suffering injuries and harm. s"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," prosecutors said. Nessel had said at a press conference streamed on social media Thursday morning that Geddert was expected to surrender to authorities at 2:15 pm on Thursday to be arraigned on the charges. Michigan State Police, however, said in a statement that his body was found at a highway rest area outside Lansing at 3:24 pm.
Geddert was coach of the women's team known as the Fierce Five that won gold at the 2012 Olympics and the former owner of the Lansing-area Twistars USA Gymnastics Club for elite athletes where Nassar treated gymnasts. The two sexual assault charges stem from an incident in 2012, court documents showed. "These allegations focus around multiple acts of verbal, physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by the defendant against multiple young women," Nessel said in an earlier statement. Sarah Klein, a gymnast who trained under Geddert for more than 10 years and was assaulted by Nassar, said the coach's death was an "escape from justice" and "traumatizing beyond words." "His suicide is an admission of guilt that the entire world can now see," said Klein, a lawyer. Geddert was later suspended by USA Gymnastics in January 2018.