True Crime
Disgraced U.S. Gymnastics Doctor Larry Nassar Stabbed Multiple Times in Prison Attack
Disgraced United States gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was stabbed multiple times during an altercation with another inmate at United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida on Sunday, July 9, according to multiple reports.
Nassar, 59, was stabbed twice in the back, twice in the neck and six times in the chest,” Local 506 president Joe Rojas, who represents employees at the Federal Correctional Complex Coleman in Central Florida, told NBC News. Additionally, Nassar suffered a collapsed lung during the attack, according to NBC News.
Nassar is said to be in stable condition following the incident.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons revealed that an inmate was assaulted at Coleman at 2:35 p.m. on July 9, though did not identify the prisoners involved. Staff provided life-saving measures to save the victim, who was later identified as Nassar, and he was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
“No staff or other inmates were injured and at no time was the public in danger,” officials said, noting that the FBI was notified. “An internal investigation is ongoing.”
In 2015, Nassar was accused of sexually assaulting at least 265 young women and girls – including Olympic and United States women’s national gymnastics – that visited him for medical treatment.
He pleaded guilty to child pornography and tampering with evidence charges on July 11, 2017, while he was sentenced to serve 60 years in federal prison in December of that year.
Nassar was sentenced to an additional 40 to 175 years in Michigan State prison in January 2018 after he pleaded guilty in Ingham County to seven counts of sexual assault. His sentencing continued to increase in February of that year when he was ordered to serve an additional 40 to 125 years in Michigan State prison after pleading guilty to an additional three counts of sexual assault.
Several of Nassar’s victims came forward with their experiences, notably Olympian Aly Raisman.
In November 2017, Raisman, 29, told Time that Nassar often closed his eyes and would be out of breath while treating her. She admitted she wasn’t aware that he was molesting her and rationalized his behavior by believing he was tired from traveling with the gymnasts.
“I know people will say ‘Why didn’t she tell her mom? Why didn’t she say anything?’ But those questions are unfair,” she told Time. “The fact is I didn’t really know it was happening to me. What people don’t get is that he was a doctor. I would never have imagined that a doctor would abuse me or manipulate me so badly.”
