US Olympic gold medal-winning gymnastics coach linked to Larry Nassar shoots himself dead at a rest stop hours after being charged with human trafficking and sexual assault

 A former US women's gymnastics coach with ties to disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar who was charged in Michigan on Thursday with two dozen crimes has died by suicide.

John Geddert died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound just hours after he was brought up on two dozen charges including sexual assault, human trafficking and running a criminal enterprise, WLNS-TV reported.

Geddert's suicide was confirmed by the office of 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,' Nessel wrote in a statement. 

'This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved.' 

Michigan State Police tweeted that Geddert’s body was located by troopers at the rest area on EB I-96 in Clinton County at 3.24pm.

Police said no further details are available at this time and that an investigation into Geddert's death is ongoing. 

DailyMail.com left a message on Thursday with Geddert's Lansing-based attorney, Chris Bergstrom. 

An official in Nessel's office said that Geddert agreed to surrender to authorities at Eaton County Sheriff's Office in Delta Township on Thursday before 2:15pm but he never showed up. His arraignment was scheduled at Eaton County District Court before Judge Julie O'Neill. 

Geddert was head coach of the 2012 US women's Olympic gymnastics team, which won a gold medal. 

John Geddert,  63
Larry Nassar

John Geddert (left), 63, a former United States Olympics gymnastics coach with ties to disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar (right), was charged by authorities in Michigan on Thursday with two dozen crimes, including sexual assault, human trafficking and running a criminal enterprise. Hours after the charges were filed, Geddert took his own life

John Geddert died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound just hours after he was brought up on two dozen charges including sexual assault, human trafficking and running a criminal enterprise. He's pictured with the U.S. women's gymnastics team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London

John Geddert died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound just hours after he was brought up on two dozen charges including sexual assault, human trafficking and running a criminal enterprise. He's pictured with the U.S. women's gymnastics team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London 

Geddert was head coach of the 2012 US women's Olympic gymnastics team, which won a gold medal. He is seen above celebrating the American team's victory during the London Summer Games in 2012

Geddert was head coach of the 2012 US women's Olympic gymnastics team, which won a gold medal. He is seen above celebrating the American team's victory during the London Summer Games in 2012

Nassar was the team's doctor and also treated injured gymnasts at Twistars, Geddert's Lansing-area gym for elite athletes.

It is alleged that Nassar abused several gymnasts at Twistars. 

Geddert, 63, is accused of injuring people for years through forced labor and recruiting minors for forced labor, according to documents filed in an Eaton County court, near Lansing.

He also was charged with molesting a teen with his hands in 2012. 

Authorities said Geddert also lied to investigators in 2016 when he said he had never heard anyone complain about Nassar.

State prosecutors charged Geddert with 14 counts of human trafficking; six counts of human trafficking of a minor for forced labor; one count of continuing criminal enterprise; one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct; one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct; and one count of lying to a peace officer during a violent crime investigation, a four-year felony.

The two counts related to sexual conduct were brought after Geddert allegedly engaged in 'sexual penetration' of a girl under 16 in January 2012, according to the complaint.

Geddert was the former owner of Twistars Gymnastics (gym pictured). There is no suggestion any of the girls in this picture were victims of Geddert

Geddert was the former owner of Twistars Gymnastics (gym pictured). There is no suggestion any of the girls in this picture were victims of Geddert

Geddert formerly owned and coached at Twistars Gymnastics club (gym pictured) in Dimondale, where hundreds of women say Nassar sexually abused them. There is no suggestion any of the girls in this picture were victims either men

Geddert formerly owned and coached at Twistars Gymnastics club (gym pictured) in Dimondale, where hundreds of women say Nassar sexually abused them. There is no suggestion any of the girls in this picture were victims either men 

In 2012, he coached the US women's gymnastics team to a gold medal. That squad included the 'Fierce Five,' which included Aly Raisman (left, in black), Gabby Douglas (second from left), McKayla Maroney (center), Kyla Ross (second from right), and Jordyn Wieber (right)

In 2012, he coached the US women's gymnastics team to a gold medal. That squad included the 'Fierce Five,' which included Aly Raisman (left, in black), Gabby Douglas (second from left), McKayla Maroney (center), Kyla Ross (second from right), and Jordyn Wieber (right)

'John Geddert used force, fraud and coercion against the young athletes that came to him for gymnastics training for financial benefit to him,' Nessel said.

'The victims suffer from disordered eating, including bulimia and anorexia, suicide attempts and self-harm, excessive physical conditioning, repeatedly being forced to perform even when injured, extreme emotional abuse and physical abuse, including sexual assault. 

'Many of these victims still carry these scars from his behavior to this day.' 

Had he lived to face the charges in court, Geddert likely would have faced a maximum prison sentence of life if convicted. 

Nessel scheduled an afternoon news conference. A message seeking comment was left with Geddert's attorney.

Geddert insisted he had 'zero knowledge' of Nassar's crimes, although some gymnasts said he forced them to see Nassar and was physically abusive. 


Athletes are said to have attempted suicide, harmed themselves and suffered from eating disorders, according to Nessel. 

One woman who spoke to WLNS about Geddert in 2018 but wished to remain anonymous described him as the 'boss, the enforcer, the screamer, the thrower, the perfectionist, the one from whom we desperately sought approval, or even just some small sign that he actually cared for us and not just for winning'.

Gymnast Lindsey Lemke described one incident to the station, saying: 'While a gymnast would be in the spotting belt over a set of uneven bars, they would often get dropped from mid air, 15 feet up, if they made a mistake. 

'Geddert would let go of the ropes that controlled the belt and therefore the gymnast.'

Lemke continued: 'He would take girls by the shoulders, squeeze hard enough to leave marks, shake them and yell directly into their face. 

'There was specifically one time where he picked up the vault hand mat and hit me with it because I couldn’t get my vault right that day and this was already after I had crashed into the vault hard enough to bruise and bleed.'

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