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Almost a year ago, we wrote about the Indianapolis Star‘s exposé on USA Gymnastics. The large children’s gymnastics organization mishandled allegations by gymnasts who were victims of sexual assault. You can read more about that story in our 2016 post.
The good news is that prosecutors were also paying attention to the story.
After the Star report published, several gymnasts who were victims felt empowered to speak about their experiences. That led authorities to Dr. Larry Nassar, A Michigan doctor who specialized in treating gymnasts, and now stands criminally accused of molesting nine girls.
There are also currently over 100 civil lawsuits against him for sexual assault as of the writing of this blog.
Guilty Plea On Possession Of Child Pornography
While Dr. Nassar has numerous legal battles ahead of him, currently resolved are the criminal charges that Dr. Nassar possessed child pornography. Despite disposing of incriminating evidence on his laptop in the fall of 2016, investigators still found thousands of pictures of child pornography in his trash.
On July 11, Dr. Nassar pled guilty to three charges of possession of child pornography, each carrying a maximum 20-year sentence. In most cases, these sentences are served concurrently; however, Dr. Nassar could potentially be sentenced up to 60 years in prison, even if he were to be found not guilty of the molestation charges.
The civil lawsuits are also pending.
As Is Often The Case, Sexual Abuse Was Underreported
You can read the Indianapolis Star’s excellent reporting on USA Gymnastics on their website. It is another revelation that many organizations fail to protect children in their care. Only after the reporting came out did many of the children affected by these horrifying events feel capable of speaking out.
You can also read more about civil lawsuits against youth organizations that allow sexual abuse here.
