The first young woman to accuse Larry Nassar of sexual assault and molestation in court papers has been revealed, with NCAA champion Maggie Nicholas announcing on Tuesday that she is one of the women who testified against the US Gymnastics team doctor.
‘Up until now, I was identified as Athlete A by USA gymnastics, the US Olympic Committee and Michigan State University,’ stated Nicholas in a powerful open letter.
‘I want everyone to know that he did not do this to Athlete A, he did it to Maggie Nichols.’
Later in the letter she described her relationship with Nassar by writing: ‘His job was to care for our health and treat our injuries. Instead, he violated our innocence.’
Public revelation: Maggie Nichols (center with Simone Biles and Madison Kocian), a former member of the US national team and current NCAA champion revealed she was molested by Larry Nassar in an open letter
Brave: The 20-year-old college student revealed that she was the first to formally accuse Nassar and inform USA Gymnastics about his molestation of her in 2015 (left with Gabby Douglas)
Nichols, a former member of the US national team, went on to state that she first met Nassar when she was 13 or 14, noting that he proved incredibly adept at dealing with an elbow injury she was dealing with at that time.
Things changed however when she turned 15 and started to experience back pain, an injury the forced her to be alone in the room with Nassar, at which point the alleged assaults began.
Nichols is the latest gymnast from a past national team to go public with allegations against Nassar, following in the footsteps of Aly Raismann, McKayla Maroney, Gaby Douglas and Jamie Dantzscher.
‘My back was really hurting me, I couldn’t even really bend down, and I remember he took me into the training room, closed the door and closed the blinds,’ wrote Nichols.
‘At the time I thought this was kind of weird but figured it must be okay. I thought he probably didn’t want to distract the other girls and I trusted him.’
That trust lasted for just moments however, and quickly turned into fear and confusion for the teenager.
‘I trusted what he was doing at first, but then he started touching me in places I really didn’t think he should. He didn’t have gloves on and he didn’t tell me what he was doing,’ explained Nichols.
‘There was no one else in the room and I accepted what he was doing because I was told by adults that he was the best doctor and he could help relieve my pain.’
She then noted: ‘He did this “treatment” on me, on numerous occasions.’
Nichols also took aim at the organization that supported Nassar, and in her opinion protected him while continuing to allow him to treat numerous young women.
‘USA Gymnastics and the USOC did not provide a safe environment for me and my teammates to train,’ stated Nichols.
‘We were subjected to Dr. Nassar at every National Team Camp which occurred monthly at the Karolyi Ranch.’
She closed out her letter by thanking her friends and family members along with her faith, saying it has helped her through this difficult time.
Nichols also called herself a ‘work in progress.’
Raisman tweeted her support for Nichols on Tuesday, writing: ‘I support you @MagsGotSwag12 proud of you for sharing your story. I stand with you. I know this is not easy but I know you are incredibly strong. We will get through this together!’
Confess: Nassar confessed to sexually penetrating multiple young girls who were as young as 10 back in November.
Friend indeed: Aly Raisman showed her support for Nichols on Twitter Tuesday
Nassar confessed to sexually penetrating multiple young girls who were as young as 10 back in November.
He will be sentenced in that case on Friday, and last month received a 60 year sentence in federal court on child pornography charges.
Nassar pleaded guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Ingham County Circuit Court on Wednesday, acknowledging that he sexually penetrated the young women and that they were not old enough to give consent.
He broke down in tears at one point, while his most famous victim voiced her rage at the man who allegedly assaulted her on Twitter.
‘Court referring to Larry as DOCTOR Nassar. I AM DISGUSTED. I am very disappointed,’ wrote Ali Raisman.
‘He does NOT deserve that. Larry is disgusting. Larry is a MONSTER not a doctor.’
Nassar said he hoped his plea would help ‘to move the community forward and stop the hurting’ before adding: ‘I pray the rosary every day for forgiveness’
In his statement he also said: ‘I want them to heal. I want this community to heal. I have no animosity toward anyone. I just want healing. It’s time.’
Nassar was forced to verbally confess to each offense in court, and agreed to wearing a monitoring device and have his electronic activity monitored for life as port of the plea.
At the end of the hearing, the presiding judge had a few words for Nassar.
‘You used that position of trust that you had in the most vile way — to abuse children,’ said Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina.
‘I agree that now is a time of healing, but it might take them a lifetime of healing while you spend your lifetime behind bars thinking about what you did in taking away their childhood.’