Former Team USA gymnastics coach, John Geddert has reportedly committed suicide. Reports say he killed himself right beside a dumpster near a rest area in Michigan. The incident took place moments before he was scheduled to turn himself in to local authorities for a long list of crimes.
His charges include 20 counts of human trafficking, 1 count of racketeering, 2 counts of sexual assault, and 1 count of lying to a police officer. All these offenses are said to have been committed while he was coach of the USA gymnastics team. If Geddert was found guilty on all counts, he would be facing life imprisonment. Let’s not forget, the former USA gymnastics coach is now 63 years old, and prison is not ideal for a person of his age, not to talk of a life sentence.
According to a lady who claims to be a member of Geddert’s family, she called his phone severally after he had failed to show up at the surrender site. He never responded to any of the calls, so she began tracing him using a GPS tracker. The lady says the GPS tracker led her to Geddert’s body, laying next to a dumpster, which was close to a rest area. He was found with a gun-shot wound to the head, and that is how he was presumed to have killed himself. According to police reports, the lady (who says she’s a family member), was in tears as she called 911 and described the scene to the dispatcher. She said – “He’s not in a vehicle … he’s on the ground by the dumpster.”
Before he allegedly took his life, authorities had earlier in the day, announced the charges levelled against him. They also announced he was scheduled to appear in court some time in the afternoon. However, Geddert never made it to court. Since Geddert is now dead, the criminal charges have come to a staggering halt, since there’s really no point prosecuting a dead person.
But even though the state may take their foot off the pedal regarding prosecution, some of the alleged victims of Geddert’s crimes may not.
It is very likely they will still take action against Geddert’s estate in civil court, with hopes of getting some form of compensation.
However, it is difficult to win a civil case when the accused is not even alive to be convicted. For the record, Geddert was the coach of the legendary 2012 USA Gymnastics Team, popularly called the Fierce 5. The team was made up of star gymnasts such as Aly Raisman, Mckayla Maroney, Jordyn Wieber, andGabby Douglas. As at today, it is assumed he took his own life, but investigations are still ongoing regarding the incident.
