Larry Nassar, the disgraced sports doctor convicted of sexually abusing young female gymnasts, was repeatedly stabbed by another inmate in federal prison, according to several reports.
Larry Nassar, the shamed former sports doctor convicted of sexually assaulting multiple young female gymnasts, was repeatedly stabbed by a fellow inmate in federal prison, according to several reports.
Hundreds of athletes, including Olympic champions Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, have said they were sexually abused by Nassar, often in the guise of medical treatment.
He was stabbed in the neck, chest and back, the reports said, and is in stable condition.
“He is lucky to be alive and the only reason he is alive, in my opinion, is because of the staff members who were there," Joe Rojas, union president for workers at the Federal Correctional Complex Coleman in Florida, the Daily Beast reported Monday.
In 2018, he was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison by a judge who declared, “I just signed your death warrant.”
Nassar, who was once a famous sports physician, admitted to molesting and assaulting young gymnasts, some of them the country's top performers, for years while acting as their doctor.
His sentence followed convictions in state and federal courts. He also admitted sexually assaulting athletes at Michigan State University and at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. He also pleaded guilty in a separate case to federal charges of possessing images of sexual child abuse.
Rachael Denhollander, the first to publicly accuse Nassar, posted Monday on Twitter that none of his survivors were applauding his attack. “We’re grieving the reality that protecting others from him came with the near-certainty we would wake up to this someday,” she wrote.
The attack happened on Sunday, The Associated Press reported.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons announced an inmate at the Florida facility had been "assaulted," but did not release a name or reason for the attack. The prisoner had been taked to a hospital for treatment, the statement said.
Union president Rojas has long publicly said the prison suffers from a staff shortage and prolonged overtime shifts that are as long as 16 hours.
"We warned of unsafe conditions for staff and inmates," Rojas told USA Today. "You can’t expect us to protect these inmates when you don’t support us and supply us with bodies and positions."
This was not the first time Nassar has been attacked in prison. After his sentencing, he was transferred from an Arizona prison, where he was assaulted by a general population inmate, to a holding center in Oklahoma City. He was later sent to Florida.
During Nassar's sentencing hearing, more than 150 girls and women testified they were molested during what were supposed to be medical examinations. They had told adults including their parents, coaches and trainers, but the abuse went unreported, they said.
Elite gymnast Biles is one of those who spoke out about years of abuse from Nassar.
In 2021, speaking at a public congressional hearing, the most-decorated American gymnast testified, "I am a strong individual and I will persevere, but I never should’ve been left alone to suffer the abuse of Larry Nassar."
Related Stories
