John Geddert decided he was not going to have his day in court after his body was found on Thursday, some hours after the former USA Gymnastics coach was charged with 24 counts of criminal misconduct, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
“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,” Nessel said in a statement.
Geddert, who coached the 2012 U.S. women’s gold-winning Olympic team, worked closely with Larry Nassar, who was convicted of multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct and child pornography.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that John Geddert was charged with crimes, including sexual assault, human trafficking and running a criminal enterprise. Geddert was accused of turning his Michigan gym into a criminal enterprise by coercing girls to train under him and then verbally and physically abusing them.
Attorney General Dana Nessel said the coach used “force, fraud and coercion” for financial benefit.
“The victims suffer from disordered eating,” Nessel said, “including bulimia and anorexia, suicide attempts and attempts at self harm, excessive physical conditioning, repeatedly being forced to perform even when injured, extreme emotional abuse and physical abuse, including sexual assault.
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“Many of these victims still carry these scars from this behavior to this day,” the attorney general said.
