US doctor who sexually abused young athletes stabbed in prison by fellow inmate

© ABC News

US doctor who sexually abused young athletes stabbed in prison by fellow inmate

Abigael Wafula 10:40 - 11.07.2023

Nassar was stabbed in the back and in the chest but noted that he is in stable condition.

Former disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing female gymnasts in the United States, has been stabbed multiple times by another inmate at a federal prison in Florida.

According to AFP, Nassar was stabbed in the back and in the chest but noted that he is in stable condition.

A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson confirmed that an inmate at the US Penitentiary Coleman in Wildwood, Florida, was assaulted on Sunday afternoon but declined to identify the prisoner.

“Responding staff immediately initiated life-saving measures. The inmate was transported by (emergency personnel) to a local hospital for further treatment and evaluation,” bureau spokesperson Benjamin O’Cone said in a statement as quoted by Al Jazeera.

The spokesperson refused to confirm that Nassar was the inmate attacked citing “privacy, safety, and security reasons” which bar them from discussing inmates’ medical status.

An internal investigation has been launched into what happened and the FBI has also been notified.

Nassar is serving hundreds of years behind bars in the Florida penitentiary after he was convicted of both state and federal charges for sexually assaulting girls and young women on the USA gymnastics team.

As the team doctor, he abused his position and preyed on dozens of young gymnasts for several decades. In many cases, he sexually assaulted his young victims under the guise of it being medical treatment for hip and leg injuries sustained during the sport.

Following his 2016 arrest, Nassar pleaded guilty to child porn charges at his federal trial in December 2017. Two months later, he pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct at a separate trial.

He is serving 60 years in prison on federal charges and 175 years on state charges. While behind bars, the serial sex offender has sought to fight his length conviction, claiming that he was treated unfairly by the judge at his 2018 trial who called him a monster and said he should wither in prison. His final appeal was struck down by the Michigan Supreme Court in June 2022.

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