Geddert’s death was confirmed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, hours after she held a news conference announcing his charges.
“This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved,” Nessel said.
Geddert, 63, worked closely for years with disgraced sports physician and convicted serial child molester Larry Nassar. One of the charges Geddert faced related to lying to law enforcement during an investigation into Nassar’s crimes.
Earlier Thursday, Nessel announced charges against Geddert, including two counts of sexual assault against children between the ages of 13 and 16, according to court documents, which did not disclose if the acts involved more than one victim. He also was charged with 20 counts of human trafficking relating to his use of “force, fraud and coercion against the young athletes that came to him for gymnastics training for financial benefit to him,” Nessel said.
A lawyer for Geddert did not reply to a request to comment Thursday.
Geddert’s charges stemmed out of an ongoing investigation by Michigan’s attorney general’s office into others who may have had knowledge of crimes committed by Nassar, the former Michigan State University assistant professor and longtime team physician for Team USA women gymnasts who molested hundreds of girls in Michigan and at elite gymnastics events around the globe.
Geddert and Nassar worked closely for years with the doctor regularly providing treatment at Geddert’s Twistars USA Gymnastics facility, located in Dimondale, Mich., near Lansing. Three of Nassar’s sexual assault convictions stem from abuse that took place at the gym, and during Nassar’s 2018 sentencing hearing, Geddert was named by several victims as enabling Nassar, ignoring signs of abuse and utilizing his own abusive coaching tactics.
In the wake of those comments, USA Gymnastics suspended Geddert, and the coach promptly announced his retirement. Geddert’s wife Kathryn, took over ownership of the gym. Nessel said she isn’t facing any charges related to Geddert’s alleged crimes. The gym was sold earlier this month to new owners who quickly rebranded the gym Capital City
Former competitive gymnast Sarah Klein was victimized by Nassar during the 10 years she was coached by Geddert. In an email exchange Thursday, before news of Geddert’s suicide had been revealed, Klein explained in an email what she described as a symbiotic relationship between the two.
“John broke us — physically and psychologically- and Larry was there to put us back together,” wrote Klein, now a lawyer specializing in sexual-abuse cases. “These two men developed a good cop / bad cop dynamic from the beginning that benefited them both enormously. They enabled each other’s abuse. Without John, Larry may not have serially sexual abused kids for over thirty years. Without Larry, John may not have emotionally and physically abused kids for over thirty years.
“John and Larry both deserved to be held to account and, up until now, the Geddert piece was missing, which didn’t allow closure.”
At Thursday’s news conference, Nessel accused Michigan State University of “stonewalling” her investigation by refusing to release 6,000 pages of documents the school’s lawyers have said are covered by attorney-client privilege.
“I find it unconscionable that the university would stonewall an investigation that it requested,” said Nessel, who implored the university’s board of trustees to release the documents during her news conference.
In a brief statement, Michigan State board chair Dianne Byrum said trustees would “discuss the issue further in the coming weeks.”
Liz Clarke contributed to this report.
