After Being Charged For Human Trafficking John Geddert Committed Suicide
In the past year there have been many human trafficking and child molestation charges that have come to light after being hidden for so long. Many of these perpetrators were men and women who were highly respected in their field, such as Larry Nassar, who was an acclaimed sports doctor. John Geddert, who had strong ties to Nassar as they worked in the same field, committed suicide on Thursday just a few hours after being charged for turning his Michigan gym into a human trafficking hub by coercing girls to train and abusing them.
Geddert was facing 24 charges that could have landed him in prison for decades once convicted. Expected to appear in an Eaton County court his body appeared at a rest stop near Interstate 96 according to State Police. “This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said. Nessel was the one who announced Gedderts’ charges which included sexual assault, human trafficking, and running a criminal enterprise. Instead of Geddert being arrested and transported to court, Nessels office allowed him to come in on his own recognizance. According to Nessels’ spokeswoman, Kelly Rossman-McKinney, there was no indication that Geddert intended to flee or hurt himself or others as they had been in contact with his attorney.
Geddert was the head coach of the 2021 U.S women's Olympic gymnastics team that won a gold medal. He and Nassar were associates due to Nassar being the Olympic teams doctor and treating gymnasts at Geddert’s gym in the Lansing area. Geddert was also accused of lying to investigators in 2016 when the complaints against Nassar were beginning to resurface. Although the charges against Geddert had “very little to do” with Nassar according to the Assistant Attorney General there is still a strong tie between the cases because of the circumstances. Gedder was charged with using his strong reputation in gymnastics to commit a form of human trafficking by making money off the backs of young athletes.
“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.
“Many of these victims still carry these scars from this behavior to this day,” the attorney general said.