A former U.S. gymnastics coach committed suicide on the day he was being criminally charged in a human-trafficking case.
The body of John Geddert was discovered in Grand Ledge, Michigan, a spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel told reporters Thursday.
Mr. Geddert was scheduled to turn himself in Thursday before a 2:15 p.m. arraignment but did not, spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney said.
Mr. Geddert, 63, led America’s female gymnastics squad at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London and was thus tied to disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, now in jail on sex-abuse charges.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Eaton County, Michigan, Mr. Geddert was charged with 20 counts of human trafficking and forced labor resulting in injury, one count of racketeering, two counts of criminal sexual conduct and one count of lying to police, the last about Nassar’s sex abuse of the gymnasts.
His own criminal sexual-conduct counts, according to that complaint, involved “sexual penetration” of a girl under 16 in January 2012.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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