Madison Kocian reveals sexual assault by Larry Nassar
Former Olympic gymnast Madison Kocian has revealed that she, too, was sexually assaulted by 55-year-old disgraced former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University physician Larry Nassar.
More than 330 individuals, many of whom female gymnasts, have come forward with sexual assault allegations against Nassar. Nassar sexually assaulted his patients under the guise of medical treatment and got away with it for more than two decades before he was finally arrested back in December of 2016.
Kocian, 20, revealing that Nassar sexually assaulted her means that four of the five gymnasts on the 2016 United States women’s Olympic gymnastics team, also known as the "Final Five", have accused Nassar of sexual assault, as Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman have also done so.
Douglas and Raisman also competed on the 2012 United States women’s Olympic gymnastics team, also known as the "Fierce Five". The other three members of that team, including McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber, have also accused Nassar of sexual assault, with Ross doing so on Thursday along with Kocian.
This means that seven of the eight gymnasts who have competed on one or both of the last two United States women's Olympic gymnastics teams have accused Nassar of sexual assault.
Here is what Kocian had to say about Nassar’s sexual assault, according to Yahoo.
“It was almost like a family member. On international trips he’d bring us food, or just kind of be that person that would always ask how you’re doing, because the culture that was at the Karolyi Ranch was a culture of fear, a culture of silence, and that’s what let him be able to abuse us.”
Here is what a USA Gymnastics statement about the matter had to say, according to Yahoo.
“USA Gymnastics’ support is unwavering for Kyla, Madison and all the athletes who courageously came forward to share their experiences. Their powerful voices and stories will continue to be a basis for our future decisions.”
Kocian won a gold medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as a result of the fact that the United States women’s Olympic gymnastics team dominated the team finals and finished in first place.
Kocian’s score of 15.933 on the uneven bars in the team finals was tied for the highest among the scores of all 24 gymnasts who competed on the uneven bars in the team finals. Russia’s Aliya Mustafina also recorded a score of 15.933.
Kocian also won a silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics as a result of her performance on the uneven bars. After recording the top score of 15.866 in qualifications, which was 0.033 points higher than the score of second place Mustafina, she finished in second in the finals by recording a score of 15.833. She finished 0.067 points behind Mustafina, who recorded a score of 15.900 to win the gold medal.
Nassar has been issued three lengthy prison sentences in recent months for his predatory actions. In December, U.S. District Judge Janet Neff sentenced him to 60 years in federal prison on three child pornography charges.
Nassar is currently serving this prison sentence at United States Penitentiary, Tucson in Tucson, Arizona, where he was recently physically assaulted within hours of his release into the general population of the prison.
In January, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced Nassar to between 40 and 175 years in state prison on seven sexual assault charges in Ingham County, Michigan following a seven-day sentencing hearing during which 169 victim impact statements were delivered in front of Nassar in court.
Of those 169 victim impact statements, 156 were delivered by those who have accused Nassar of sexual assault and 13 were delivered on the behalves of those who have done so.
In February, Judge Janice Cunningham sentenced Nassar to between an additional 40 and 125 years in state prison on three more sexual assault charges in Eaton County, Michigan following a three-day sentencing hearing during which 65 of the people who have accused Nassar of sexual assault delivered victim impact statements in front of him in court.
During this sentencing hearing, the father of three of the girls who have accused Nassar of sexual assault attempted to attack Nassar.
In late June, Nassar was also charged with six counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child in Texas as a result of the Károlyi Ranch investigation, which was conducted by the Walker County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers. However, he was not issued any additional prison time as a result of these charges.