Larry Nassar, the disgraced sports doctor who was convicted of sexually abusing female gymnasts, was stabbed numerous times at a federal prison in Florida following a confrontation with another inmate.
According to two people acquainted with the situation, the incident occurred Sunday at the United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida. He was said to be in stable condition on Monday.
One of the witnesses claimed he had been stabbed in the back and chest.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the nature of the attack or the continuing investigation.
Nassar received a long prison sentence for sexually assaulting gymnasts, including Olympic medalists.
Nassar has been imprisoned for decades for crimes in state and federal courts. He admits to sexually assaulting athletes at Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. Nassar, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to having child pornography.
Several athletes claimed during victim impact statements in 2018 that they had alerted others, including coaches and athletic trainers, about Nassar’s more than two decades of sexual assault, but that it went unnoticed.
Over a 100 women, including Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, sued the federal government for more than $1 billion for the FBI’s inability to stop Nassar when agents became aware of claims against him in 2015. More than a year later, he was apprehended by Michigan State University police.
Michigan State University agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who were raped by Nassar after being accused of failing to stop him for many years. A $380 million settlement was reached between USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Nassar’s final appeal was denied by the Michigan Supreme Court in June 2022. Nassar’s attorneys said he was treated unfairly in 2018 and deserved a fresh hearing based on a judge’s vindictive remarks that he was a “monster” who would “wither” in prison like the wicked witch in “The Wizard of Oz.”
“I just signed your death warrant,” Nassar’s 40-year sentence was announced by Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina.
The state Supreme Court called Nassar’s appeal a “close question” and expressed “concerns” about the judge’s behaviour. However, the court recognised that, notwithstanding her controversial words, Aquilina adhered to the sentence accord negotiated by the case’s counsel.
“We rejected to expend additional judicial resources and subject the victims in this case to further trauma where the questions at hand present nothing more than an academic exercise,” the court wrote in a two-page judgement.
During an unusual seven-day hearing in Aquilina’s court more than four years ago, more than 150 victims spoke or submitted statements.
“It’s all over… “It’s finally over, almost six years after I filed the police report,” said Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar.