US gymnasts accuse team doctor of abuse

Three former US gymnasts, including an Olympian, have accused a volunteer team doctor of molesting them as he faces court on other unrelated charges.

FILE IMAGE: Dr Larry Nassar has been accused of sexually abusing three former US gymnasts who went to him for medical treatment.

FILE IMAGE: Dr Larry Nassar has been accused of sexually abusing three former US gymnasts who went to him for medical treatment. Source: AAP

Three former elite US gymnasts, including Olympian Jamie Dantzcher, have come forward saying they were sexually abused by a former doctor currently facing trial on a separate matter.

Dantzscher, three-time US rhythmic gymnastics champion Jessica Howard and former national team member Jeanette Antolin appeared on 60 Minutes on Sunday , detailing what they have claimed is sexual abuse by Dr Larry Nassar.

All three accused Nassar, a volunteer team doctor for USA Gymnastics for almost three decades before his tenure ended in July 2015, of touching them inappropriately while he disguised the abuse as treatment.

Dantzscher, who helped the US team earn a team bronze at the 2000 Olympics, filed a lawsuit against Nassar in California last September as "Jane Doe".

She gave up her anonymity for 60 Minutes and described how she was sent to visit Nassar to receive treatment for lower back pain.

"He would put his fingers inside of me, move my leg around," Dantzscher said. "He would tell me I was going to feel a pop and that that would put my hips back and help my back pain."

Dantzscher said she saw Nassar for treatment regularly from her early teens until the Olympics, when she was 18. Dantzscher said typically she saw Nassar alone, which is in violation of USA Gymnastics policy.

USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny and others have been named as a co-defendant in Dantzscher's civil suit.

The suit says the organisation negligently suppressed, concealed or failed to disclose knowledge that Nassar had engaged in sexual conduct with team members. Nassar's lawyers have denied any wrongdoing by the doctor.

USA Gymnastics fired Nassar two years ago after going to federal authorities following an investigation into possible abuse by Nassar, leading the FBI to conduct its own investigation of the doctor.

Nassar, who also treated gymnasts at Michigan State University, faces charges in two cases so far, although they're not related to his work with athletes.

He was ordered to stand trial on charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after a woman described how he sexually abused her for years during her childhood.

The 25-year-old woman who testified on Friday said her parents were friends with Nassar and that he repeatedly abused her from age six until age 12 during family visits to his home.

Nassar has pleaded not guilty.

In federal court, Nassar is charged with possessing thousands of images of child pornography and trying to destroy possible evidence.


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Source: AAP


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