Who Is Dr. Larry Nassar? McKayla Maroney Reveals Him As Alleged Abuser

With the sexual harassment and rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein coming out, as well as Alyssa Milano’s #MeToo campaign which stemmed from it, many women are beginning to speak up about ways they’ve personally been affected by such harassments in the past.

Olympic gymnastics gold medalist McKayla Maroney is one of those women. On Wednesday, she posted her story to Twitter, along with the hashtag “Me Too,” about how she was a victim of sexual misconduct, from the age of 13 until she left the sport, allegedly at the hands of Dr. Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team physician.

Nassar has been accused by more than 100 women of sexual assault during his time as a USA Gymnastics doctor, but agreed to a plea deal in June saying that he was guilty of the federal child-pornography charge that he had been accused of.

The former physician is set to be sentenced on the child-pornography charges on Nov. 27 in Michigan. Prosecutors are recommending that he’s given between 22 and 27 years of prison time. This plea could possibly mean that he won’t face criminal charges associated with the allegations against him that he abused Team USA gymnastics for years as in exchange for his admission of guilt. U.S. attorneys in Michigan will not go after him for “interstate/international travel with intent and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places,” as well as allegations he assaulted two kids in his family’s pool, according to a document reported on by The Washington Post.

But Nassar still has 22 state charges against him in Michigan over allegations he sexually attacked children, which could result in a life sentence.

Along with all the charges filed against him, there’s also a class-action lawsuit by his alleged victims against USA Gymnastics and Michigan State, where Nassar worked prior to the USA team. As most of the victims involved wished to remain anonymous, it’s unclear whether or not Maroney is involved in the lawsuit.

Either way, she’s publicly involved now as she’s speaking up as part of the #MeToo movement to let her story be heard.

“Everyone’s words over the past few days have been so inspiring to me. I know how hard it is to speak publicly about something so horrible, and so personal, because it’s happened to me too,” Maroney wrote on Twitter. “People should know that this is not just happening in Hollywood. This is happening everywhere. Wherever there is a position of power, there seems to be potential for abuse. I had a dream to go to the Olympics, and the things that I had to endure to get there, were unnecessary, and disgusting.”

She went on to reveal that she “was molested by Dr. Larry Nassar” and that he would tell her that she “was receiving ‘medically necessary treatment that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years,’” when really he was abusing his power and abusing her.

“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,” she continued. “For me, the scariest night of my life happened when I was 15 years old. I had flown all day and night with the team to get to Tokyo. He’d given me a sleeping pill for the flight, and the next thing I know, I was all alone with him in his hotel room getting a ‘treatment.’ I thought I was going to die that night.”