Ex-US Olympics gymnastics coach under investigation

The Associated Press

7 years ago

Gymnastics coach John Geddert is seen at the American Cup gymnastics meet at Madison Square Garden in New York, March 3, 2012. Geddert, a former U.S. women’s gymnastics national team coach, is facing a criminal investigation in Michigan after the sentencing of disgraced ex-sports doctor Larry Nassar, who treated girls at his elite club Twistars near Lansing. (Kathy Willens/AP, File)

LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan sheriff said former U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics coach John Geddert is facing a criminal investigation after complaints were filed in the wake of the sexual abuse cases against Larry Nassar.

The Eaton County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that people have recently come forward with complaints against Geddert. Sheriff Thomas Reich declined to elaborate because the investigation was ongoing.

Nassar has been sentenced to decades in prison for sexually abusing patients under the guise of medical treatment, including while working as a doctor with Geddert’s elite gymnastics club in Eaton County, Michigan.

Some of the young athletes who confronted Nassar in court said Geddert was physically abusive. One alleged Geddert was aware in the late 1990s that Nassar had performed an “inappropriate procedure” on her when she was 16.

Geddert’s lawyer couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Tuesday by The Associated Press.

Geddert previously was accused in separate incidents of physically assaulting a parent and a gymnast. He wasn’t charged.