Larry Nassar, the former sports physician notorious for his sexual abuse of female gymnasts, including Olympic athletes, has been the victim of a stabbing incident within the walls of a federal penitentiary in Florida, as per two informed sources.
These individuals, not cleared to discuss the issue publicly, confirmed to the Associated Press that the assault took place on Sunday at the United States Penitentiary Coleman. Nassar, they revealed, was hospitalized but stable by Monday.
Details emerged indicating that Nassar suffered stabbings to his back and chest during the altercation. At the time of the incident, the prison was grappling with staffing shortages. The officers tasked with supervising the unit housing Nassar were working obligatory overtime hours, sources revealed.
Nassar, serving decades behind bars for charges in both state and federal courts, confessed to sexually assaulting athletes during his tenure at Michigan State University and Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics, an organization known for training Olympians. In an independent case, Nassar was found guilty of possessing child pornography.
These recent events have highlighted the dire staffing crisis facing the federal Bureau of Prisons. An issue that was thrown into the limelight following the suicide of financier Jeffrey Epstein at a federal jail in New York in 2019.
A probe in 2021 disclosed that almost one-third of federal correctional officer positions across the country were vacant, resulting in prisons resorting to using cooks, teachers, nurses and other workers to supervise inmates. This staffing predicament has negatively impacted emergency responses at numerous prisons, including suicide incidents.
On the day of the attack on Nassar, both officers assigned to his unit were in the midst of overtime shifts. One officer was on their third consecutive shift, completing a 16-hour day, while the other was on their second straight shift, according to one source.
The dire consequences of Nassar’s criminal actions have not been forgotten. During victim impact statements in 2018, multiple athletes, including Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, revealed that despite informing adults, including coaches and athletic trainers, of Nassar’s sexual abuse that expanded two decades, their pleas fell on deaf ears.
Nassar’s attempts for a reprieve from his sentence met with a firm rejection by the Michigan Supreme Court in June 2022. Lawyers for Nassar argued he was dealt with unjustly in 2018 and warranted a new hearing, citing vindictive comments made by a judge. Nonetheless, the state Supreme Court declined to use further judicial resources, noting the trauma it would cause the victims and dismissed the appeal.
Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina had notably told Nassar during his sentencing, “I just signed your death warrant,” referring to his 40-year term.
Over 150 victims gave statements during a remarkable seven-day hearing more than four years ago in Aquilina’s court. Reflecting on the final rejection of Nassar’s appeal, Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar, said, “It’s over. … Almost six years after I filed the police report, it’s finally over.”
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