Nassar survivor: USA Gymnastics told us 'you have to go to treatment every single day'

Tim Evans | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption How Larry Nassar abused gymnasts for so long Former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar is serving long sentences for decades of sexual abuse of young gymnasts. But how did the sports doctor get away with his crimes for so long? (March 2018)

Another former USA Gymnastics national team member has added her name to the growing list of girls and women sexually abused by Larry Nassar.

Alyssa Baumann, 20, a Plano, Texas, resident now attending the University of Florida, told IndyStar she is the Jane Doe who filed a lawsuit in August in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois.

The lawsuit claims USA Gymnastics investigated Nassar in 2015 after a coach overheard Baumann talking about the former team doctor's treatments, but that she was not contacted about it until 30 months later.

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Baumann is among nearly 500 survivors now suing the embattled national governing body for failing to protect them from the sexual predator. Her attorney, Michelle Simpson Tuegel, said the lawsuit is being amended this week to replace the Jane Doe designation with Baumann’s name.

Her accusations against Larry Nassar

The lawsuit says Baumann was sexually assaulted by Nassar on more than 40 occassions and seeks unspecified damages from USA Gymnastics, the International Federation of Gymnastics and Nassar.

Baumann was a member of the U.S. National Team from 2013-16, which won a team gold medal at the 2014 World Championship in China.

The lawsuit alleges she was sexually abused by Nassar "at every national team camp" she attended at the Karolyi Ranch from 2013 through 2015, as well as three major events in 2014: the World Championship in China, the U.S. National Championship in Pittsburgh, and the Secret Classic Championship in Chicago.

"The worst was the World Championships, because it was a monthlong thing. We were at the ranch for more than a week and a half. Then we went straight to China, and we had a hotel room just for treatment," Baumann told IndyStar. "A lot of times we would be left alone in that room with him. I think (the sexual abuse) happened every single day when I was there because we were forced, when we were there — we were all really rundown, and tired, from training every single day. They told us ‘you have to go to treatment every single day.' "

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During that time in China, Nassar gave her pills prior to the treatments, and now she isn't "sure about what he was giving me," Baumann said.

"He told me that they were muscle relaxers that I needed to take before treatment, so that he could — so that my muscles would be more relaxed, and it would be easier for him to work on me," she said. "But I don't know exactly that they were muscle relaxers, because he would hand me pills and tell me to take them."

Overheard by a coach

Baumann’s lawsuit alleges she was one of the gymnasts overheard by a coach as they discussed concerns about Nassar’s treatments during a camp at the Karolyi Ranch in the summer of 2015. That discussion prompted the coach to report Nassar to USA Gymnastics officials, who conducted a five-week investigation before reporting Nassar to the FBI.

But Baumann said no one from USA Gymnastics followed up or interviewed her until November 2017, nearly 30 months later. And then, according to the lawsuit, the official who visited her in Florida asked Baumann about the abuse in front of other people.

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Tuegel, Baumann’s attorney, said that inquiry came around the same time USA Gymnastics was in settlement talks with other Nassar survivors.

"It's interesting, right before the first mediation, one of (former-USA Gymnastics President) Steve Penny's people is casually 'poking around' with gymnasts to see who else may pop up," Tuegel said.

Later, Baumann said, USA Gymnastics sent an email about the matter to Baumann’s parents, who she had not yet told about being sexually abused by Nassar.

A USA Gymnastics spokeswoman said the organization does not comment on pending litigation.

Actions against USA Gymnastics

Baumann’s revelation comes as the U.S. Olympic Committee is moving forward with action to strip Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics — which is facing lawsuits from hundreds of Nassar survivors — of its recognition as the sport’s national governing body.

Tuegel said that move factored into Baumann's decision to reveal that she is a Nassar survivor, too.

"They're tired of seeing what keeps happening. They really want to see something be different at a deeper level, and it not just be on the surface — 'we're going to stamp a new name on this, and things are going to continue as usual.' That's what resulted in all of these women being in this situation. I know that's important to Alyssa."

USA Today reported USA Gymnastics expects to pay between $75 million and $150 million to Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse victims, according to financial statements released Nov. 8.

First accusers: Former USA Gymnastics doctor accused of abuse

Contact IndyStar reporter Tim Evans at 317-444-6204 or tim.evans@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim