Disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar, who is serving a sentence of up to 175 years for sexually abusing young girls, was stabbed multiple times on Sunday at the U.S. Penitentiary Coleman in Florida.
Nassar was stabbed in the neck, chest, and back by fellow inmate Shane McMillan, who was convicted in 2006 for assaulting a correctional officer at a Louisiana federal penitentiary and attempting to kill another at a federal prison in Colorado in 2011, court records show.
The assault reportedly took place after Nassar made “a lewd comment while they were watching a Wimbledon tennis match on TV,” the Associated Press reported, citing a “person familiar with the matter.”
McMillan, who used a makeshift weapon to stab Nassar in his cell, was pulled off the former USA Gymnastics team doctor by four other inmates.
Cell doors on most federal prison units are typically open during the day, letting prisoners move around freely within the facility. Because Nassar was attacked in his cell, the incident was not captured on surveillance cameras which only point at common areas and corridors.
McMillan, 49, told prison workers that he attacked Nassar after the sexually abusive ex-U.S. gymnastics team doctor made a comment about wanting to see girls playing in the Wimbledon women’s match, the person said. (AP)
This was not the first time Nassar was assaulted in federal custody. He was attacked at a Tucson, Arizona, prison shortly after his conviction. He was then moved to the Florida penitentiary where he was kept with other sex offenders.
Nassar is serving a sentence of up to 175 years for sexually abusing hundreds of young girls, including gymnasts on the U.S. Olympic team.