Former MSU gymnastics doctor accused of molesting Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney
He told her she was receiving ‘medically necessary treatment’
Lawrence G. Nassar, a previous Michigan State University Gymnastics doctor, allegedly sexually assaulted McKayla Maroney, a United States Olympic gold medalist.
Maroney shared a very personal statement on Twitter detailing her abuse. She explained how Dr. Nassar "treated" her at one of her first National Team training camps.
Nassar told her the treatment she received was a "medically necessary treatment that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years."
Maroney tweeted multiple accounts of her assault. According to Maroney, on a flight to Tokyo when she was 15 years old, Nassar slipped her a sleeping pill and she “woke up alone with him in his hotel room getting ‘treatment’”.
This is only one retelling of her countless assaults, which occurred from the beginning of her gymnastics career to the end.
Nassar, 53, holds a gruesome history of sexually assaulting women and girls, facing twenty-two charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving at least seven victims, according to the New York Times. Nassar is confirmed to have assaulted victims as young as ten.
In September of 2016, Nassar was under investigation for the possession of child-pornography on his computer, and attempted to eliminate the evidence. Despite his attempts at concealment, Nassar was charged in December of 2016 with federal child-pornography charges, with his possession ranging from 2003 to 2016.
Alarmingly, Nassar’s acts of sexual assault were reported to have occurred as early as in 1998, when he assaulted a freshman softball player at MSU. Due to a lack of proper investigations after receiving multiple sexual assault reports regarding Nassar, thirteen women and girls are expected to sue MSU.
Along with USA Gymnastics and MSU, Nassar also assaulted women and girls at Holt High School and a gymnastics club.
Maroney is speaking up about her terrifying and life-altering experiences in order to attract awareness to the never-ending issue of sexual-assault. She joined the #MeToo movement, a hashtag that victims of sexual assault are using, if comfortable doing so, to display the chilling, countless amount of people that have faced such horrible circumstances.
The movement is aimed to break the silence of sexual assault victims, to unapologetically expose the villainous criminals that commit these crimes, and to shed light on the overarching issue of sexual harassment and assault.
“Our silence has given the wrong people power for too long,” announced Maroney in her Twitter reveal, “and it’s time to take our power back”.