Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney filed the lawsuit against USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Photo / AP
Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney filed the lawsuit against USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Photo / AP
Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney has filed a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee accusing them of trying to silence her claims of sexual abuse.
Maroney claims in the lawsuit filed that officials paid her to sign a confidential non-disclosure agreement to keep secret the allegationsthat she had been sexually abused by former team doctor Larry Nassar.
The 22-year-old revealed on Twitter in October that Nassar had allegedly molested her for seven years beginning when she was 13, the Daily Mail reports.
The 22-year-old revealed on Twitter in October that former team doctor Larry Nassar had allegedly molested her for seven years beginning when she was 13. Photo / Facebook
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, says the confidentiality agreement was signed as part of a financial settlement that was finalised as the allegations against Nassar surfaced.
Maroney says she accepted the settlement in December 2016 after "years of psychological trauma" and sexual abuse. The terms weren't disclosed in court papers.
Sources told the Los Angeles Times that Maroney received US$1.25 million in the settlement to pay for psychological treatment.
The lawsuit alleges that the settlement was illegal and "for the purpose of silencing a known victim of Nassar."
Her lawyer John Manly said Maroney entered willingly into the agreement but is now seeking to have her released from it. Manly, who wasn't part of the negotiations at the time, says it was in violation of California law because child sex abuse victims cannot be forced to sign non-disclosures in the state for settlements.
"I want people to understand that this kid had no choice. She couldn't function. She couldn't work" Manly told ESPN.
"They (USAG) were willing to sacrifice the health and well-being of one of the most famous gymnasts in the world because they didn't want the world to know they were protecting a paedophile doctor.
"We're basically saying USAG and its lawyers violated the law by asking McKayla to agree to it and that she should be free to talk about her abuse to whomever she wants, whenever she wants."
The court documents detail some of the alleged abuse Maroney was subjected to, including instances where Nassar allegedly inserted "his bare, ungloved hand into her vagina" as he claimed to be performing medical treatment.
Maroney is said to suffer from anxiety and depression and is terrified that Nassar took photos of her alleged sexual abuse, according to the lawsuit.
"Nassar would continuously, obsessively and compulsively photograph McKayla Maroney and is believed to have possessed thousands of photographs of McKayla Maroney competing in gymnastics events, training, in everyday situations," the court papers state.
"McKayla Maroney alleges that she believes photographs were taken of her while Nassar was sexually abusing her under the guise of treatment. McKayla Maroney is further informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, that these photographs were shared by Nassar with other paedophiles for their sexual gratification.
"McKayla Maroney continues to worry, distress, experience concern, anxiety, and depression over whether Nassar's photographs of her are still circulating through the internet, and whether they are possessed by other paedophiles and sexual deviants, and whether she will ever know how widely these photographs have been shared or whether they will eventually surface later in her lifetime."
McKayla Maroney of USA competes in the Womens Balance Beam Qualification on Day Three of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Belgium. Photo / Getty Images
The suit also alleges that Maroney lost millions of dollars because the trauma of the alleged sex abuse drove her from the sport.
In addition to USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic Committee, the suit also seeks damages from Michigan State University where Nassar worked for decades.
Nassar is currently in prison in Michigan after he was sentenced to 60 years earlier this month possession of child pornography.
The pornography, which included more than 37,000 of images and videos depicting children as young as infants, was discovered last year while Nassar was under investigation for assault.
He is still awaiting trial on separate criminal sexual conduct charges in addition to being sued by over 125 women in civil court who claim he sexually assaulted them.
The allegations of sex abuse first surfaced in August 2016 when two gymnasts accused him of assault.
More than 140 females have since filed complaints against him, including decorated gymnasts Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas.
Maroney went public in October alleging that Nassar had abused her from the age of 13 until she left gymnastics last year.
She said the abuse happened at many high-profile competitions, including the 2012 London Olympic Games where she won gold and silver medals.
Dr. Larry Nassar, 54, appears in court for a plea hearing. Photo / AP
Maroney claims that Nassar, who spent nearly 30 years as an osteopath with the USA Gymnastics program, first molested her when she was 13 at a National Team training camp in Texas.
"Dr. Nassar told me that I was receiving 'medically necessary treatment that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years'," Maroney said of her abuse.
"It seemed whenever and wherever this man could find the chance, I was 'treated',' she added. It happened in London before my team and I won the gold medal, and It happened before I won my Silver."
Maroney claims that the worst abuse happened during the 2011 world gymnastics championships in Tokyo.
McKayla Maroney competes on the balance beam during day 4 of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials at HP Pavilion. Photo / Getty Images
She wrote that Nassar had given her a sleeping pill on the flight to the Japanese city, and she didn't wake until she was in his hotel room, alone, where he was performing a "treatment".
"I thought I was going to die that night," Maroney wrote.
Several former athletes have accused Nassar of inserting un-gloved fingers into their bodies and fondling their breasts as part of his treatment.
Nassar served as the US gymnastics team's doctor through four Olympic Games.
Following her post, Maroney was praised by USA Gymnastics and on her birthday last month the organization dedicated a post to her on social media.
"On her birthday, we celebrate not only the talent it took to deliver the best vaults in the World but also McKayla's incredible bravery and strength to come forward," they wrote.
On her birthday, we celebrate not only the talent it took to deliver the best vaults in the World but also McKayla's incredible bravery and strength to come forward. pic.twitter.com/vrfJpfRJbx
The president of USA Gymnastics, Steve Penny, resigned in March after repeatedly being urged to quit for allegedly being slow to notify authorities about sexual abuse allegations in the organization.
The organization launched an independent review of its policies in the wake of the allegations against Nassar and reporting by the Indianapolis Star that highlighted chronic mishandling of abuse allegations against coaches and staff at some of its over 3,500 clubs across the country.
