‘I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE’
McKayla Maroney claims she was sexually assaulted by ‘monster’ US gym doctor Larry Nassar in London before winning Olympic silver as she details years of abuse hell
OLYMPIC gymnast McKayla Maroney said she thought she was “going to die” after being given a sleeping pill by her former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and waking up to find him sexually assaulting her.
The details of her years of abuse were finally revealed in a victim impact statement read to the court on the third day of the disgraced doctor’s trial.
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McKayla Mahoney was not in court but her heart wrenching statement was read by assistant attorney general Angela Povilaitis.
Speaking of the abuse, the 22-year-old wrote: “It all started when I was 13 or 14 years old, at one of my first National Team training camps, in Texas, and it didn’t end until I left the sport.
"It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was ‘treated’.
“It happened in London before my team and I won the Gold medal, and it happened before I won my Silver Medal.
“For me, the scariest night of my life happened when I was 15 years old."
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She continued: “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.”
The gymnast said the former doctor's actions left "scars" on her psyche "that may never go away".
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She added: “I was told to trust him, that he would treat my injuries and make it possible for me to achieve my Olympic dreams.
"Dr Nassar told me that I was receiving ‘medically necessary treatment’ that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years.
"Dr. Nassar was not a doctor.
"He in fact is, was, and forever shall be a child molester, and a monster of a human being. End of story."
YEARS OF HELL: The most powerful points from McKayla's testimony
- McKayla was assaulted from the age of 13 during her first National Team training camp in Texas
- She was regularly abused by Larry Nassar over the following seven years until she left the sport
- The most frightening incident happened after an overnight flight to Tokyo when he gave her a sleeping pill
- She awoke hours later in his room as he sexually molested her
- McKayla has called for Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee to take responsibility for her ordeal
- She said the abuse has left ‘scars on her psyche that may never go away’
- The gold medallist has labelled the disgraced doctor a ‘monster’
- He is currently serving 60 years in prison for possession of child pornography
- More than 100 women have come forward to accuse him of sexual assault
- McKayla broke a non-disclosure agreement from 2016 to speak out against the abuse
McKayla also questioned how the trusted doctor managed to get away with his crimes for so long, saying: “How could have Larry Nassar been allowed to assault so many women and girls for more than two decades?
“The answer to that question lies in the failure of not one, but three major institutions to stop him -- Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee.”
Placing a significant amount of blame on the shoulder of these organisations, she said they each had the power to stop him but chose to do nothing.
She went on: “A simple fact is this. If Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee had paid attention to any of the red flags in Larry Nassar’s behaviour I never would have met him, I never would have been ‘treated’ by him, and I never would have been abused by him.”
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McKayla then called for some accountability from Nassar’s “enablers”, saying: “Our silence has given the wrong people power for too long, and it’s time to take our power back.”
There were concerns that McKayla may not have been allowed to give evidence at Nassar’s abuse trial altogether after it was revealed that she faced a fine of £72,000 if she broke her silence due to a 2016 non-disclosure agreement.
However, in a show of support, model Chrissy Teigan publicly vowed to pay it for her in order to ensure she gave evidence.
The gymnast has added her voice to the legions of women coming forward about sex abuse in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
McKayla, who won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, originally posted a fragment of her ordeal on Twitter as part of the #MeToo campaign.
In that tweet, she disclosed that she was just 13 when the doctor began abusing her.
Assault survivors are being encouraged to use the hashtag in an effort to show just how widespread the problem of sexual assault and harassment is.
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The gymnast added: "I had a dream to go to the Olympics, and the things that I had to endure to get there, were unnecessary and disgusting."
Six-time Olympic medallist Aly Raisman, 23, branded Nassar “pathetic” at a court in Michigan.
She told him: “You took advantage of our passions and our dreams. How do you sleep at night?”
Jordyn Wieber, 22, said: “Current gymnasts should not have to live in anxiety and fear as I did.”
Nassar has been accused of molesting dozens of young athletes associated with USA Gymnastics and his Michigan State University clinic.
He pleaded guilty to child porn possession in July and is awaiting trial in three criminal cases alleging that he sexually molested nine gymnasts.
He has pleaded not guilty to those accusations.
Nassar is also being sued by more than 125 women who claim he sexually assaulted them.
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McKayla became an internet meme in 2012 during an Olympic medal ceremony at the London Games.
She was predicted to win individual gold on the vault but a stumble meant she had to settle for silver.
On receiving her second place medal, McKayla was pictured looking less than impressed with a sideways pout.
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