Two-time Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney describes chilling detail of the sexual abuse she received from former Team USA doctor, Larry Nassar. Photo / Getty
Two-time Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney describes chilling detail of the sexual abuse she received from former Team USA doctor, Larry Nassar. Photo / Getty
This story contains details that may be disturbing for some readers.
Olympic gold medallist McKayla Maroney said former Team USA doctor Larry Nassar "deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison."
Nassar, 54, will face at least 25 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and was charged with the molesting of seven girls.
McKayla, who said she was molested by Nassar from her early teens, planned to be present in a federal courtroom last Thursday to deliver her victim-impact statement in open court.
Instead, McKayla and her mother Erin Maroney decided to testify in the form of letters, which have been made public, addressed to the federal judge presiding the case, ESPN reports.
The letters provided chilling and disturbing detail of the psychological toll Nassar's alleged sexual abuse took on the two-time Olympic gold medallist and former member of the "fierce five" women's gymnastics team from the 2012 London Olympics.
McKayla said Nassar began abusing her under the guise of medical care at the USA's Gymnastics' national training centre run by former Team USA coaches Bela and Marta Karolyi.
"It started when I was 13 years old, at one of my first national team training camps, in Texas, and it didn't end until I left the sport." Maroney wrote in her letter to the court.
Erin wrote that she and her husband were not allowed to stay with McKayla when she was travelling abroad, sometimes not even in the same hotel.
"We were never allowed to the U.S. Olympic Training Center at the Karolyi Ranch nor any other training facility," Erin wrote.
"My husband once questioned the propriety of the isolation of the girls during international travel. He was assured by Steve Penny that the girls were safe at all times. 'More safe than the President of the USA,' he said to him. We now know that this was a lie."
McKayla's mother, Erin Maroney said Nassar's abuse shattered her daughter who became deeply depressed and at times suicidal. Photo / Getty
One of the most disturbing accounts, described in letters by both women, occurred when Maroney competed in the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo, aged 15.
"I ... learned a few weeks ago from my daughter that at the world championships in Tokyo, [Nassar] drugged her, made her lay nude on a treatment table, straddled her and digitally penetrated her while rubbing his erect penis against her," Erin wrote.
"She said to me, 'Mom I thought I was going to die."
"I cannot tell you the anguish her Dad and I feel and the responsibility we feel for not being aware of this or being able to stop it."
McKayla described the account saying she had woken up alone with Nassar in his hotel room after he gave her a sleeping pill for the flight.
Mckayla, along with several other Team USA national gymnasts reported incidents to ESPN were Nassar abused them in their dorm rooms at the Karolyi Ranch and villages at the Olympics, despite a USA Gymnastics policy which forbids adults from being alone with minors.
"It happened in London before my team and I won the gold medal, and it happened before I won my silver medal," McKayla wrote, describing the times she says Nassar sexually assaulted her during the 2012 London Olympics.
Erin wrote USA Gymnastics failed her daughter and the abuse "shattered Mckayla" to become deeply depressed.
"She has transformed from a bubbly, positive, loving, world class athlete into a young adult who was deeply depressed, at times suicidal. At times, I was unsure whether I would open her bedroom door and find her dead."
"Our daughter was totally failed by USA Gymnastics, by Michigan State University and by the U.S. Olympic Committee ... No one has apologised," Erin wrote.
"After McKayla spoke with an investigator with USA Gymnastics in July 2015, USA Gymnastics and the USOC kept the knowledge of [Nassar's] status as a child molester secret from Michigan State University after 2015 and even said nothing when he ran for school board in his local school district!"
Concerns about Nassar's behaviours can be traced back to 1990 after four other women said they were digitally penetrated during treatment sessions in the late 90's.
Nassar's sentencing could receive a minimum of 27 years in prison but in recent court filings, prosecutor's have asked the court to impose a 60-year sentence.
"He abused my trust, abused my body and left scars on my psyche that may never heal," McKayla told the court in her letter.
"Larry Nassar deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison."
