First coming to light in 2015, the Larry Nassar sexual abuse cases have been heavily talked about over the past week. Nassar is finally on trial for his alleged wrongdoings. Over the past few days, even more developments have been revealed.
Another bystander
It was recently announced that Michigan State had previously been informed that Larry Nassar had been sexually assaulting female athletes. This all comes just days after Usa Gymnastics star Simone Biles admitted she too had been sexually abused by Nassar. They were first made aware of the infractions in 1997 by then-16-year-old Larissa Boyce.
The first alleged assault occurred five years prior in 1992.
Apparently, athletes who were reporting Nassar's abuse back to their coaches were having their claims dismissed. Christie Achenbrach said that when she informed her coach Kelli Bert of what Nassar did to her, she was told "He's an Olympic doctor and he should know what he is doing." Boyce's complaints to her coach were also ignored and she was told that she was misunderstanding what was happening.
According to reports, 14, maybe more officials at Michigan State ignored and dismissed allegations against Nassar for many years. The person taking the most heat for this though is Michigan State President Lou Anna Simon. Simon supposedly was unaware of the claims against Nassar until 22 years after the initial incident in 2014 after a Title IX complaint was filed.
She claims to have been notified of the complaint but didn't get a copy of the report. She never took any action against Nassar. This could prove to be a critical mistake for her as it may cost her her job since many people are demanding she resigns.
What else is going on?
This is a major development as it has now been made known that Nassar could have hundreds more victims since members of the USA Women's Gymnastics team were apparently not his only targets.
Nassar, who is sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on child pornography charges, may receive a life sentence with these new allegations and spend the rest of his life behind bars. Many of his victims want him to face the maximum sentence. Nassar is in court this week. He has already pleaded guilty to nine accounts of sexual abuse.
Over 100 people are supposed to be giving victim impact statements at his sentencing hearing.
The impact
Nassar hurt many women and girls not only physically, but mentally. USA Gymnastics Olympic team member McKayla Maroney was heavily affected by Nassar's actions. She was abused by him over the course of many years. Her mother said that Maroney got so depressed due to the incidents that she sometimes wondered if Maroney would still be alive when she entered her room. Maroney herself was quoted in a letter in reference to Nassar, saying: "He abused my trust, abused my body and left scars on my psyche that may never heal."
