100 Victims Testify in Court Over Massive Child Molestation Cover-Up in USA Gymnastics
Nearly 100 out of the 140 women who have accused a former USA Gymnastics team doctor of sexually assaulting them are now testifying against him in court.
By Rachel Blevins
TheFreeThoughtProject.com
January 17, 2018
Nearly 100 women will read victim impact statements this week, sharing their accounts of the horrific sexual assault they endured when they were young girls, at the hands of Larry Nassar—and in doing so, they are also revealing that USA Gymnastics enabled the predator.
“You failed all of us, and for that, I see you in the same category of criminal as I do the criminal standing before us today,” Olivia Cowan said in court on Tuesday, addressing the roles of USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University in allowing Nassar’s abuse to continue for decades.
Cowan accused the organizations of ignoring numerous complaints about Nassar’s conduct and noted that they have still refused to take responsibility for their role in the abuse, claiming they were never alerted to Nassar’s serial abuse.
“Today, I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a friend that is struggling each day to find peace and joy in all the things that once made me happy,” Cowan said.
The long-term effects stemming from Nassar’s sexual and psychological abuse were also brought to light in court. Donna Markham spoke on behalf of her daughter Chelsey, who took her own life after a confession about Nassar’s abuse—that occurred in the doctor’s office, while her mother was in the room—drove her to a path of depression and drugs that led to suicide.
“Every day I miss her. Every day. And it all started with him. It all started with him, and it just became worse as the years went by until she just couldn’t deal with it anymore,” Markham said.
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