Team USA gymnastics doctor pleads guilty to possessing child pornography as elite athlete files lawsuit over sex assault allegations
‘Pedophile sports doctor ‘fesses up’
Team USA gymnastics doctor pleads guilty to possessing child pornography as elite athlete files lawsuit over sex assault allegations
Dr. Larry Nassar, 53, has admitted possession of child pornography
He was ordered to stand trial by a judge on the sex assault charges last week
The plea comes after six athletes who sought treatment for injuries with him as minors accused him of assault
A 16-year-old unidentified gymnast testified that Nassar molested her during an examination when she was only 11
She said she thought he was going to massage her heel but he inserted his fingers into her vagina
Nearly 100 people, most anonymous, have also filed various lawsuits against him
He had to give it up: Michigan sports doctor Larry Nassar (left and right) has reportedly signed plea deal after admitting sexually abusing young girls
Dr. Larry Nassar, 53, today made the admission in court, but still faces three sexual assault cases.
He is accused of molesting young girls who he was treating for injuries.
The doctor also faces a string of lawsuits filed by alleged victims.Last week, an Ingham County judge ordered Nassar to stand trial on the sex assault charges, while he separately faces child pornography charges in federal court.
Nassar and Michigan State are also being sued by dozens of women and girls, while a motion filed Friday in federal court seeks to add 23 more plaintiffs.
Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics is a defendant in some of the lawsuits.
Today NBC reported that an unnamed gymnast has filed a suit against the shamed doctor, employing renowned attorney Gloria Allred.
Former Michigan State Univ. and USA Gymnastics doctor, Larry Nassar, to stand trial for assaulting more than 60 young women and girls
A pensive Larry Nassar during his preliminary hearing on sexual assault charges on Friday in Michigan
He could face up to 20 years in prison after admitting possession of child pornography between 2003 and 2016.
One of his victims had described the sexual abuse she suffered aged 11 at the hands of Nassar, during a 2012 appointment for a heel injury.
She told the court, at an earlier hearing, how the Michigan sports doctor has asked her father to leave the room before he penetrated her with his fingers. At the time, she hadn’t said anything because she was embarrassed and thought it might be a legitimate procedure.
‘I remember lots of pain,’ the 16-year-old, identified as victim A, told a judge.
The case involves seven women or girls, although dozens of others have also accused him of sexually assaulting them and are suing him in federal court.
Nassar was a doctor at Michigan State University and at USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians and other elite athletes. He’s accused of molesting the women and girls with his hands but denies wrongdoing.
The 16-year-old, who was abused while seeking treatment for an injured heel, described the doctor as being ‘quite sweaty’ during the alleged assault and ‘into it’ but did not have an erection, according to MLive.
She said he also touched her labia majora, clitoris and the inside of her vagina while rubbing the thigh of the leg that had a painful heel.
She said she came forward after reading other gymnasts’ accounts last year in an Indianapolis Star story about Nassar.
‘Everything in my mind clicked, and everything crystallized, of him abusing girls,’ she told the outlet.
Olympian Larissa Boyce [left], now 36, revealed how she was one of the first to accuse Team USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse when she was 16 years old (left), but she was ignored for decades before dozens of other victims came forward.
‘Everyone thought I was a liar’ she said Dantzscher was first seen by Nassar at age 13 after she earned a spot on the US junior national team in 1995 but complained of back pain
The subsequent months have been tough.
‘There have been lots of nights where I just cried and cried,’ she said.
Another 16-year-old girl had testified on May 12 that she went to Nassar to help her back, but she said he never indicated that he would be touching her private areas with ungloved hands.
Another alleged victim, 18, said that while the doctor went inside of her vagina with his fingers he peppered her with questions such as ‘Does this feel better? Does this take your pain away?’
She also said he opened her rectum with tape but didn’t touch it, and told her he did this for all the Olympians. She said she’s having a hard time concentrating on her senior year in high school because of the trauma.
US team gymnast Jeanette Antolin [left] and former US national rhythmic gymnastics champion Jessica Howard [right] have joined forces with Olympic gymnast Jamie Dantzscher, to bring Nassar, who abused all three during their competition days, to justice
‘This has taken over and has been on my mind all the time. It’s like I can’t get away,’ she testified. Howard, who was the national rhythmic gymnasts champion from 1999 through 2001, said she had a severe hip problem when she was 15 and started being treated by Nassar
Nassar is facing four separate criminal cases, including one alleging he had child pornography.
FBI catch former USA gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar, with huge cache of child rape videos, photos
Three former Team USA gymnasts, including an Olympic medalist, previously detailed claims of sexual abuse allegedly at the hands of the same doctor.
Sydney Olympics bronze medalist Jamie Dantzscher, US national rhythmic gymnastics champion Jessica Howard and US team gymnast Jeanette Antolin revealed the allegations of abuse by Dr Larry Nassar on 60 Minutes in February.
‘He would put his fingers inside of me and move my leg around,’ Dantzscher told the program. ‘He would tell me I was going to feel a pop and that that would put my hips back and help my back pain.
‘It happened all the way to the Olympics in Sydney, until I was 18.’
The trio of former Team USA gymnasts, from left: Jamie Dantzscher, Jessica Howard and Jeanette Antolin discuss abuse by team doctor Larry Nassar
Dantzscher filed a lawsuit against Nassar in California last September as ‘Jane Doe’, but gave up her anonymity for the 60 Minutes interview.
Howard, who was the national rhythmic gymnasts champion from 1999 through 2001, said she had a severe hip problem when she was 15 and USA Gymnastics suggested she go to a camp called Karolyi Ranch to work with Nassar.
‘He started massaging me. And he had asked me not to wear any underwear. And then he just continued to go into more and more intimate places,’ she said.
Dantzscher was first seen by Nassar at age 13 after she earned a spot on the US junior national team in 1995, after she complained of back pain
Jessica Howard, who was the national rhythmic gymnasts champion from 1999 through 2001, said she had a severe hip problem when she was 15 and started being treated by Nassar
‘I remember thinking something was off but I didn’t feel like I was able to say anything because he was, you know, this very high-profile doctor. And I was very lucky to be at the ranch working with him.’
The Karolyi ranch near Houston, Texas is an extensive training camp for Team USA gymnasts run by coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi.
The athletes would stay in cabins for the duration of the camp, which is where Nassar was on hand to treat the girls.
Jeanette Antolin, a US team member from 1995 to 2000, said she only realized last year what she thought was treatment had been abuse after speaking with other gymnasts
Nassar, who treated elite US gymnasts as Olympic team physician from 1996 to 2015, is accused by former athletes of inserting un-gloved fingers into their anuses and vaginas and fondling their breasts.
Nassar has denied the charges, saying he conducted only legitimate medical procedures.
Antolin, a US team member from 1995 to 2000, said she only realized last year what she thought was treatment had been abuse.
‘It was like a light bulb went off,’ Antolin said. ‘I trusted this man. Just knowing how vulnerable I was as a kid, to not know something like that would be inappropriate, just ruined me.
‘I remember being uncomfortable because of the area. But in my mind, I was like: “If this helps, I’ll do anything”.’
California attorney John Manly is representing more than 40 women in a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics for failing to protect his clients.
He says has accused the US sports federation of falling asleep at the wheel, Nassar may have abused hundreds of girls over more than two decades, while spots authorities were not pay attention.
‘This is somebody who is a serial predator. But the story here is that no one was watching to protect these girls, and they (USA Gymnastics and the Karolyis) put medals and money first.’
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