American gymnast Simone Biles has joined more than 100 other women to accuse Team USA doctor Larry Nassar of sexual assault.
In a tweet hashtagged #MeToo, Biles said she had been abused by the disgraced doctor, who also allegedly abused two of her 2016 Olympic teammates.
“I too am one of the many survivors that was sexually abused by Larry Nassar,” Biles wrote.
“Please believe me when I say it was a lot harder to first speak those words out loud than it is now to put them on paper. There are many reasons that l have been reluctant to share my story, but I know now it is not my fault.”
The four-time Olympic champion continued: “It is not normal to receive any type of treatment from a trusted team physician and refer to it horrifyingly as the ‘special’ treatment.
“This behavior is completely unacceptable, disgusting, and abuse, especially coming from someone whom I was TOLD to trust.”
In December, Nassar pleaded guilty to child pornography charges and was sentenced to 60 years in jail, TIME reports. He is also facing between 40-25 years behind bars for abusing seven girls while he was working at USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University.
As ABC News reports, Nassar’s accusers include Olympians McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas, who were part of the gold medal-winning “Fierce Five” team at the 2012 Olympics.
The physician has admitted to molesting girls with his hands while they were present for treatment for hip and back pain.
Gymnast Maroney claims the disgraced doctor abused her for six years. In testimony letters made public in December, she and her mother have described the horrific impact of Nassar’s alleged abuse.
“I … learned a few weeks ago from my daughter that at the world championships in Tokyo, (Nassar) drugged her, made her lay nude on a treatment table, straddled her and digitally penetrated her while rubbing his erect penis against her. She was only 15-years-old. She said to me, ‘Mum I thought I was going to die,”’ mother Erin Maroney wrote.
Raisman also wrote a heartbreaking letter about her experience as a “survivor”.
“Larry abused his power and the trust I and so many others placed in him, and I am not sure I will ever come to terms with how horribly he manipulated and violated me,” Raisman said.
“Shame on all those who actively protected Larry and shame on all those who looked the other way. Those who looked the other way are just as guilty.”
Nassar will be sentenced on the seven sexual assault charges this week.
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