First Male Gymnast Accuses Larry Nassar Of Sexual Abuse

A male gymnast alleges former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused him during treatment for a shoulder injury ― the first male to publicly accuse the now-imprisoned serial predator.

Jacob Moore, a former member of the U.S. junior team and now a gymnast at University of Michigan, said in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in Michigan that Nassar molested him in 2016, when he was 16 years old, according to multiple news outlets. The suit was first reported by International Gymnast magazine on Thursday.

Moore says in his lawsuit that Nassar applied “acupuncture in his pubic area and in and around his genitalia” and “pulled down Moore’s pants, exposing his genitalia” to a young female gymnast also present in the room.

More than 100 women, including Olympic champion gymnasts, have alleged Nassar sexually abused them under the guise of treatment for decades, but Moore is the first male to come forward. Nassar pleaded guilty to child pornography and sexual assault charges in recent months and was sentenced to lengthy prison terms. 

Moore’s older sister Kamerin said Nassar also abused her. Kamerin Moore mentioned her brother during Nassar’s sentencing hearing this year, recalling that she “watched him frantically search the Internet, trying to find some proof that the chi in his shoulder is somehow connected to his genitals.”

The siblings joined a federal lawsuit against Nassar, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State. The filing says “there is no known medical connection between shoulder pain which can be treated through acupuncture in the area of a male’s genitalia.”

Moore’s lawsuit adds to the litigation involving Nassar. The Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman filed suit against the U.S. Olympic Committee this week for failing to take action to prevent the abuse. 

The USOC’s Scott Blackmun stepped down as CEO this week amid investigations into whether the organization’s officials knew about the allegations and attempted a cover-up. 

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misidentified where Jacob Moore is a gymnast. It is the University of Michigan, not Michigan State University.