LANSING, Michigan (AP) – Former U.S. Olympic gymnastics coach linked to embarrassed sports doctor Larry Nassar was charged Thursday with turning his gym in Michigan into a criminal enterprise for years , forcing the girls to train under him and then verbally and physically abusing them.
John Geddert was charged with two dozen crimes, including forms of human trafficking, one step prosecutors have acknowledged has been an unusual use of Michigan law.
He is also accused of lying to investigators in 2016 when he denied ever hearing complaints about Nassar, who is serving decades in prison for sexually assaulting female athletes in a scandal that claimed hundreds of lives and turned US Gymnastics upside down. .
Geddert, 63, has been the head coach of the 2012 US Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team, which won a gold medal. He was long associated with Nassar, who was the doctor of the Olympic team and also treated injured gymnasts at Twistars, Geddert Lansing’s gym.
Geddert is accused of recruiting minors for forced labor, a reference to the gymnasts he trained, according to documents filed in a court in Eaton County.
Geddert’s lawyer left a message seeking comment. Attorney General Dana Nessel said the coach used “force, fraud and coercion” for financial gain.
“Victims suffer from an unhealthy diet,” said Nessel, “including bulimia and anorexia, suicide and self-harm, excessive fitness, and are repeatedly forced to perform extreme emotional abuse even when injured. and physical abuse, including sexual assault.
“Many of these victims still carry these scars from this behavior to the present,” the attorney general said.
The charges against Geddert include two charges of sexual assault against a teenager in 2012.
Nessel acknowledged that the case may not fit into the common understanding of human trafficking.
“We think it mainly affects people of color or people without the means to protect themselves … but honestly it can happen to anyone, anywhere,” she said. “Impressive young women can sometimes be vulnerable and open to trafficking, regardless of their stature in the community or the financial well-being of their families.”
Deputy Attorney General Danielle Hagaman-Clark said the charges against Geddert “have very little to do” with Nassar.
Geddert was suspended by US gymnastics in Indianapolis during the Nassar scandal. He told families in 2018 that he was retiring.
On his LinkedIn page, Geddert described himself as “the most decorated female gymnastics coach in Michigan gymnastics history.” He said his Twistars have won 130 club championships.
But Geddert has often been described in unpleasant ways when Nassar’s victims spoke during court hearings in 2018.
“What a great friend John was to Larry because he gave him a whole world in which he could abuse so easily,” said Lindsey Lemke, now a coach at the University of Arkansas. “You two certainly have a funny sense of friendship. You, John Geddert, deserve to be behind bars right next to Larry. ”
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White reported from Detroit.
Nichols is a member of the body for the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercover issues.