Olympian gymnast McKayla Maroney on Thursday told of the “scars” left by alleged sexual abuse by the former national team doctor Larry Nassar, as a report claimed officials at an American university long knew he was suspected of misconduct.
More than 100 victims have accused the gymnastics doctor of sexual assault and dozens have delivered harrowing testimony since Tuesday, as a Michigan state judge weighs what Nassar’s sentence should be.
In a written statement read in court by a prosecutor, Maroney said the star doctor abused her for years, and did not stop until she left the sport.
The worst of the abuse was during a Tokyo trip, when she said Nassar gave her a sleeping pill and she awoke to find him molesting her. She was 15.
“I thought I was going to die that night,” Maroney said. “He abused my trust. He abused my body. And left scars on my psyche that may never go away.”
“Because national team training camps did not allow parents to be present, my mom and dad were unable to observe what Nassar was doing. And this has imposed a terrible and undeserved burden of guilt on my loving family,” she added.
Fellow Olympian Jamie Dantzscher, who was one of the first to publicly accuse Nassar, also delivered searing testimony on Thursday.
Directly addressing Nassar in court, she said the 54-year-old was brazen in his abuse.
“You even had the audacity to abuse me in my room, in my own bed, at the Olympic games in Sydney,” she said. Nassar has pleaded guilty to 10 counts of criminal sexual conduct and could face life in prison. He already faces 60 years in prison after being convicted of child pornography charges.
