GRAND LEDGE – Prosecutors executed search warrants at former U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics coach John Geddert's house and former coaching facility Tuesday morning.

Michigan Attorney General spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney confirmed Tuesday afternoon via email that Michigan State Police and the Grand Ledge Police Department aided the AG's office in serving search warrants at Geddert's home in Grand Ledge and at Twistars.

Geddert once managed Twistars, a gymnastics gym near Dimondale where hundreds of women say convicted sex offender Larry Nassar abused them.

Grand Ledge Police Chief Thomas Osterholzer and Eaton County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Jerri Nesbitt both independently confirmed the Michigan Attorney General's Office had called for assistance.

State Journal staffers witnessed police carrying at least one box from a home in Grand Ledge and four boxes from Twistars in Dimondale.

A home at the corner of Woodbury and Sunset drives is owned in a trust in Geddert's name, and he is registered to vote at the address, according to public records.

A call to Geddert's cell phone went straight to voicemail. A message to an attorney representing him in civil cases was not immediately returned. A Twistars employee reached by phone declined to comment.

Geddert, who was the owner and head coach at Twistars gymnastics club in Dimondale and in 2012 served as the head coach for the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team, has been under investigation for nearly two years.

Eaton County started investigating Geddert in February 2018, not long after USA Gymnastics suspended him and Geddert announced he would retire and transfer management of Twistars to his wife, Kathryn Geddert. Public records still list Kathryn Geddert as the registered agent for Twistars.

The investigation also began almost directly in the wake of Nassar's sentencing hearings. Many gymnasts said during those hearings that Geddert knew about Nassar's abuse.

The Michigan Attorney General's office then took over the investigation in early 2019.

The ties between John Geddert, Larry Nassar

Geddert's name was mentioned during each day of Nassar's seven-day sentencing hearing in Ingham County, held in January 2018.

Nassar was a sports medicine physician employed at Michigan State University, but had long served as a physician for USA Gymnastics' women's national team as well as providing treatment to young athletes in a backroom at Geddert's gym on a regular basis.

Women who gave victim impact statements described Twistars as a prison, where Geddert broke gymnasts "mentally and physically" and deprived them of water in the summer in a gym without air conditioning.

One former gymnast said in court that she suffered an eating disorder by the age of 13 because of weight restrictions Geddert imposed. If gymnasts were caught eating something they weren’t supposed to have, they were required to "scrub the bathroom floor with our toothbrush," she said.

"You even walked through our locker room without any warning while we were changing," one gymnast said of Geddert.

Several women and girls said during their victim impact statements that Geddert knew Nassar was sexually abusing gymnasts.

Three of Nassar's 10 sexual assault convictions relate to abuse at Twistars in Dimondale, and many of the hundreds who are suing have said they were abused at the Eaton County gym. At least one of the women who testified in Nassar's criminal proceedings said Geddert walked in during an instance of her abuse.

Police have investigated Geddert before

Geddert was twice investigated by the Michigan State Police, in 2011 and 2013.

In 2011, Geddert and an employee got into a heated argument, according to a police report, and outside the gym he stepped on her foot so she couldn't walk away and then "chest bumped her." Geddert didn't show up for his first interview with police, according to the report, and later said he was too busy to be interviewed.

Eaton County prosecutors ultimately declined to charge Geddert, saying they could not prove "assaultive intent beyond a reasonable doubt," according to the police report.

Two years later, in October 2013, police investigated Geddert for physically assaulting a gymnast, records show. The gymnast, a juvenile, told police that Geddert got mad at her during practice and took her into a locker room where he stepped on her foot, grabbed her arm and pushed her into a wall. The girl told police she was scared during the incident and worried Geddert might put his hands on her during practice in the future.

Geddert told police he didn't assault the gymnast, but wanted her to sit on a bench in the locker room because he wanted to talk with her about her behavior. Doug Lloyd, the current Eaton County prosecutor, reviewed that investigation. He ordered Geddert to complete counseling or charges would be issued. Geddert completed the counseling and the case was closed, according to a police report.

Contact reporter Megan Banta at (517) 377-1261 or mbanta@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @MeganBanta_1.