Olympic gymnast Jordyn Wieber with coach John Geddert at the 2012 London Olympics. IDavid Eulitt / Getty Images
The suicide of John Geddert, a former coach of the US Women's Olympic Artistic Gymnastics team accused of 24 crimes related to human trafficking and sexual assaults, has deepened the wounds of the alleged victims, who reproach their "cowardice."
An ending that leaves the plaintiffs thirsty for justice in the latest scandal to plague the US Gymnastics Federation, declared bankrupt in 2018 when the case of sexual predator Larry Nassar exploded.
The sport's governing body, USA Gymnastics (USAG), said on Friday that Geddert's death "brings many emotions to many members of the community, particularly those he hurt."
Former U.S. Women's Olympic Gymnastics Team Coach Commits Suicide Following Sexual Assault Allegations
At 3:24 p.m. on Thursday, Michigan police found the lifeless body of Geddert, 63, in a rest area of the interstate in Clinton County.
He was scheduled to be handed over to Eaton County authorities at 2:15 p.m. to be processed that afternoon in court for the twenty crimes that the Michigan District Attorney's Office had announced just hours earlier.
The indictments included 14 counts of human trafficking and forced labor resulting in injuries, six counts of trafficking of minors for forced labor, and two counts of sexual assault (one first degree and one second degree) against a teenage girl in 2012.
The charges stemmed from a three-year investigation into the case of Larry Nassar, the Olympic women's team doctor convicted of abuse for nearly three decades.
In January 2018, more than 150 of his victims testified in court about the sexual and mental abuse they suffered.
"Without Geddert there would not have been a Nassar," lawyer Sarah Klein, survivor of both, said on Thursday.
“John was a horrible verbal and physical abuser, he broke our spirits, our minds, and Larry rearmed us.
It was the perfect combination, "he said in an interview with Mid Michigan-NOW.
"The bravery of Geddert's many victims will forever remain blazing in contrast to his cowardice," Klein said in a statement describing the former coach's suicide as his response to "escape justice" and "traumatize beyond words." .
Geddert groomed Makayla Thrush for a decade, since she was seven years old.
During Nassar's trial, he affirmed that the deceased accused told him several times to commit suicide.
"After you finished my career, I tried," he said at the time.
After hearing the news of his death, he said in an interview with Fox 2 that the outcome did not allow him to see a closure.
"Was he guilty or not?
Personally, for me, yes ”.
The great crisis in US gymnastics
A topic that has been debated on social media after Geddert's suicide was known has been the abusers' strategy to make victims feel responsible for the negative consequences that crimes bring.
Former gymnast Rachael Denhollander, one of the most visible faces in the case against Nassar, responded to a message on the subject on Twitter. "
“Geddert's choice today [Thursday] was his and his alone.
What each survivor did was stop the abuse and save others.
Thanks".
Denhollander had described the charges brought against Geddert as "sobering" and maintained that his abusive behavior "was never a secret".
"Geddert could and should have been arrested decades ago," he said.
The president and CEO of USA Gymnastics, Li Li Leung, said in a telephone press conference this Friday that the body she represents hoped that the criminal charges and a trial of Geddert would help to give a sense of closure to those who trained with him and experienced their abuses.
"We expected that the criminal charges brought against [Geddert] would lead to a certain degree of resolution and justice," Leung said, adding that "it goes without saying that this news brings many complex emotions to many in the community."
The event deepens the crisis that has affected the US Gymnastics Federation since the Nassar case.
The body faces a hundred lawsuits filed by Nassar's victims and in 2018 it declared bankruptcy.
This Thursday he published a statement along the lines of Leung's statements.
"We share feelings of shock and our thoughts are with the gymnastics community as it grapples with the complex emotions of today's [Thursday] events," he added in a short statement.
