Male gymnast accuses former professional US Gymnastics doctor of sexual abuse
Jacob Moore has described the abuse as 'sickening' and 'shocking'
A male gymnast has become the first man to accuse a former USA Gymnastics doctor of sexual abuse.
University of Michigan freshman Jacob Moore came forward with the allegations on Monday (March 5), and has joined hundreds of other women in a lawsuit against Larry Nassar, a doctor who was sentenced to life in prison for abusing young girls.
The gymnast claimed he was abused by Nassar, a family friend, in April 2016 at the doctor’s home while receiving acupuncture treatment for an injured shoulder. According to Moore, he was taken down to the basement and had his trousers ripped down by the doctor.
Nassar allegedly performed acupuncture on his pubic region and partially exposed his genitals to a minor female present at the time while asking her whether she had ever seen a male body part before.
Larry Nassar
In an interview with Today, the 18-year-old said: “I wasn’t a dumb kid. I knew, kind of, what medical practices were, and that one was out of the ordinary. Coming out of the treatment, I felt very uncomfortable.”
Moore revealed he was inspired by his older sister Kamerin Moore, who also claimed to have been assaulted by the doctor. Kamerin revealed her brother’s alleged abuse during her own victim statement in January, and the pair have since joined a list of over 200 alleged victims despite Nassar pleading guilty to abusing only seven people.
After allegations against Nassar began to stack up, the 18-year-old decided to research why people would receive acupuncture on the pubic area.
He said: “Having found nothing, I kind of freaked out. It was just very shocking.”
Jacob and Kamerin Moore
“Me and my sister shouldn’t be able to relate over the fact that we’ve both been abused. That’s just really sickening to me that he would violate a trust like that, and the things that he did were just awful.”
Moore hopes that going public with his alleged abuse will help other victims, including men, come forward.
He said: “I hope to God that no one else is or has been affected by this that hasn’t come out. But if there are any out there, then I don’t want them to be scared to come out because of this stigma that guys can’t be sexually abused or taken advantage of.”
Since Nassar’s sentencing, the board of USA Gymnastics resigned and Scott Blackmun, the head of the US Olympic Committee, stepped down over accusations that he didn’t do enough to stop the alleged abuse despite being aware of it.