On Wednesday, former gymnastics coach Larry Nassar was charged with 22 counts of criminal sexual conduct across two counties in the state of Michigan. Law enforcement officials in Michigan say they have heard from 81 of Nassar’s victims, including one who said she was assaulted “more times than she could count” by the coach, who was a doctor at Michigan State University’s Sports Medicine clinic and the team physician for Team USA during four Olympic Games.
As reported by Diana Moskovitz at Deadspin, the allegations against Nassar all follow a pattern:
Nassar, the accusers say, did not ask for consent, did not tell the victims what he was about to do, and did not wear gloves. In some cases a parent was present, but according to the affidavits, Nassar would position them so the parents couldn’t see what was happening, or used a sheet to cover up that part of a gymnast’s body. One victim said that every time her mother stood up to see what Nassar was doing, he would stop.
The criminal charges against Nassar are part of a larger, ongoing sexual assault scandal in USA gymnastics.
Last August, an IndyStar investigation revealed that USA Gymnastics had repeatedly failed to report all of the sexual abuse allegations against its coaches, enabling abusive coaches to continue working with—and preying on—young children as they transferred from gym to gym. That investigation revealed at least 368 gymnasts had alleged sexual abuse in USA gymnastics over the past 20 years.
Weeks after their initial investigation was published, IndyStar published an article that honed in on Nassar, citing interviews with two former gymnasts, including one Olympic medalist. In the ensuing weeks, more accusations against Nassar came flooding in.
Most accusers say they did not go public with the allegations until the IndyStar investigation because Nassar was considered a “god” in the gymnastics community.
Nassar was a central figure in USA gymnastics for decades. He was a visible player in one of the most iconic Olympic moments in history — after Kerri Strug landed her vault on one foot to secure the gold medal for the United States in the 1996 Olympics, team officials handed Strug to Nassar. As recently as 2014, USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said that Nassar’s contributions to the program were “immeasurable and will continue to be so.”
But the coach retired from his position with the national team in 2014, and was allegedly let go by USA Gymnastics in 2015 after they finally reported gymnasts’ concerns to law enforcement. He was fired by Michigan State last September after the IndyStar investigation, arrested in November on three counts of sexual abuse against a minor, and posted a $1 million bond. In December, police found thousands of photos and videos of child pornography at his home, and he was arrested again.
As the allegations against Nassar continue to mount, so do the suspicions about the people who employed him for so many decades.
In October, a lawsuit was filed accusing legendary USA Gymnastics coaches Marta and Bela Karolyi of helping to create a “regime of intimidation” and abuse that enabled Nassar to continue sexually assaulting young gymnasts. Last week, Kathie Klages, the Michigan State women’s gymnastics coach, resigned after allegations that she ignored the allegations of abuse against Nassar for most of her 27 years as the leader of the team.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette told reporters on Wednesday that Nassar “is a monster,” and that more charges are coming.
“Dr. Nassar used his status and authority to engage in horrid sexual assaults under the guise of medical procedures,” Schuette said.