Convicted ex-gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar stabbed in jail

Larry Nassar, the former US national gymnastics team doctor convicted for sexually abusing female athletes, has been stabbed multiple times in prison, according to media reports.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons on Monday confirmed that an inmate at the US Penitentiary Coleman in Florida had been assaulted a day before. 

Although they declined to identify the inmate, it is the same prison where Nassar has been serving time.

"Responding staff immediately initiated life-saving measures," bureau spokesperson Benjamin O'Cone said in a statement.

"The inmate was transported by [emergency personnel] to a local hospital for further treatment and evaluation," he added.

What we know about the attack

Joe Rojas, the president of the local correctional officers union, told the AFP news agency that the 59-year-old Nassar was stabbed twice in the neck, six times in the chest, and twice in the back.

He added that the attack took place on Sunday afternoon.

The Associated Press news agency, the first to report the assault, said Nassar was in stable condition by Monday.

No staff or other inmates were injured in the incident, according to prison authorities.

Rojas also said that the prison was suffering a "severe staffing crisis."

Why Nasar was serving time at a federal prison

Over 330 women and girls have leveled sexual abuse allegations against Nassar who was the main doctor for US Olympic gymnasts for 18 years.

Although he was first reported in 2015 to the FBI by USA Gymnastics, he continued to work at Michigan State University, where he maintained a clinic, and assaulted at least 70 more women until he was finally arrested.

They said their claims had been ignored by coaches, trainers and other officials.

Nassar admitted to sexually assaulting athletes and also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

In 2018, he was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for molesting gymnasts after several athletes testified to more than two decades of abuse.

Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar, tweeted Monday that none of the women she spoke with are rejoicing that Nassar was attacked. "We're grieving the reality that protecting others from him came with the near-certainty we would wake up to this someday."

In 2021, athletes including Olympic gold medallists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, reached a settlement requiring the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, USA Gymnastics and their insurers to pay them a $380 million (€336 million, at the time).

Michigan State University, agreed to a $500 million settlement with the hundreds of other women who said they had been sexually abused by him.

lo/ab (AP, Reuters, AFP)