Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University and Team USA Gymnastics doctor who is currently in prison, was reportedly stabbed multiple times by another inmate at the federal prison where he is currently serving out his sentence. Here's everything we know about the incident so far.
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This isn't the first time Nassar has been assaulted behind bars.
Nassar is currently serving multiple sentences in prison after being convicted in 2018. He admitted to sexually assaulting athletes during his time at Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, where Olympians trained, which is in Indiana.
In a separate case, he pleaded guilty to the possession of images depicting child sexual abuse.
This isn’t the first time Nassar has been assaulted since going to prison. He was assaulted in May 2018 when he was an inmate at a prison in Arizona. He was moved to a facility in Oklahoma before being transferred to the Florida penitentiary where he’s currently incarcerated.
Not much is known about the incident yet.
The attack happened on Sunday at United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida. According to the Associated Press, Nassar was stabbed in the back and chest. Sources told the publication that the guards assigned to Nassar’s unit were working "mandated overtime shifts because of staffing shortages."
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to NPR that an inmate had been assaulted on Sunday and required immediate life-saving care. AP reported that Nassar was listed in stable condition Monday.
The Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, which has been representing Nassar during his appeals process, told NPR in a statement, "We were saddened to hear that Larry Nassar was violently attacked while in custody."
Nassar had several high-profile victims.
Several former Olympic gymnasts were victims of Nassar, including Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, and McKayla Maroney. In 2022, 90 of his victims filed a suit against the FBI, seeking damages totaling more than $1 billion, because the FBI failed to act on reports of Nassar’s misconduct.
Rachael Denhollander, who was the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar, tweeted about the assault. She claimed that none of the victims are celebrating Nassar’s assault.
"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 assault is triggering for more than one of the victims.
Sarah Klein, another of Nassar’s victims, said that the assault forces her and his other victims to relieve their abuse and trauma "at the hands of Nassar and the institutions, including law enforcement, that protected him and allowed him to prey on children."
"I want him to face the severe prison sentence he received because of the voices of survivors. I absolutely do not support violence because it’s morally wrong and death would be an easy out for Nassar," she wrote in a statement emailed to AP.
These two women, along with other Olympic athletes, were a part of a group of 150 women and girls who testified in 2018 during Nassar’s sentencing.
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The FBI failed Nassar's victims.
During his time as a team doctor, Larry Nassar used the guise of medical treatment to molest his female victims. The women testified that during the over two decades of abuse at his hands, they told coaches, trainers, and other adults what was happening, but their claims went unreported.
A probe into the FBI by the Justice Department found that the FBI mishandled Nassar’s case
During a 2021 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, FBI Director Christopher Wray apologized to the victims, saying: "I'm sorry for what you and your families have been through. I'm sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again."
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
