LANSING: A former US Olympics gymnastics coach commits suicide on Thursday, after being charged with turning his Michigan gym into a hub of human trafficking by coercing girls to train and then abusing them. He was reportedly charged with two dozen crimes stemming from allegations that he physically, emotionally and sexually abused gymnasts under his care.
John Geddert faced 24 charges that could have carried years in prison had he been convicted. He was supposed to appear in an Eaton County court, near Lansing, but his body was found at a rest area along Interstate 96, according to state police.
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 harms."
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.
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