Larry Nassar was stabbed multiple times at Florida federal prison

Larry Nassar, the disgraced sports doctor who was convicted of sexually abusing female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times during an altercation with another inmate at a federal prison in Florida, a prison union leader said Monday.

Nassar, 59, was stabbed twice in the neck, twice in the back and six times in the chest, and also suffered a collapsed lung in the Sunday attack, said Joe Rojas, president of Local 506, which represents employees at the Federal Correctional Complex Coleman in Central Florida.

Rojas, who said he verified the information with staff on duty, added that Nassar was in stable condition.

The federal Bureau of Prisons said an inmate was assaulted at Coleman at 2:35 p.m. Sunday, but declined to identify the prisoners involved. Officials said staff provided life-saving measures and the inmate was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

"No staff or other inmates were injured and at no time was the public in danger. An internal investigation is ongoing," officials said, adding that the FBI was also notified.

Nassar was sentenced to decades in prison for sexually assaulting gymnasts, including Olympic medalists. He is serving time behind bars for convictions in both state and federal courts.

The disgraced sports doctor pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting gymnasts and other athletes with his hands under the guise of medical treatment for hip and leg injuries. At his trial, more than 150 accusers spoke out or submitted statements detailing his abuse.

In June 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court rejected a final appeal from Nassar.

The sports doctor also separately pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

Nassar worked at Michigan State University and at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics, traveling the world with elites of the sport.

He has been housed at Coleman since 2018 in a unit with other sex offenders, Rojas said.

"It's unusual that this would happen in that unit," Rojas added. He said that employee shortages and vacancies at the high-security prison have left staff working extra shifts and filling other roles to the detriment of safety and security.

"This is why it happened," Rojas said of the assault against Nassar. "We don't have the staff."

The BOP has grappled with high-profile prisoner deaths in recent years.

Ted Kaczynski, the man known as the Unabomber, who was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, was found dead in June in his prison cell at FMC Butner medical center in North Carolina. A senior law enforcement official said Kaczynski, who had been diagnosed with cancer, died by suicide.

In 2018, former Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger was killed inside of USP Hazelton, a federal prison in West Virginia, within one day of being transferred there. Bulger, who was 89 and in ailing health, was previously housed at Coleman.

At Hazleton, prison workers had complained of dangerous staffing shortages.

In 2019, accused sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead by suicide in his cell in a New York prison, federal authorities said. A recent report found that a cascade of misconduct, negligence and errors by BOP employees had allowed the millionaire financier who was facing multiple sex trafficking charges the opportunity to kill himself.

At least one survivor of Nassar's sexual abuse said Monday that the BOP must keep a tighter watch on him.

"This assault on Nassar brings no peace to me personally or to the survivors I've spoken with today," said Sarah Klein, a former gymnast who says she was sexually assaulted by Nassar as a young girl.

"I want him to face the severe prison sentence he received because of the voices of survivors," Klein said in a statement. "I absolutely do not support violence because it's morally wrong and death would be an easy out for Nassar. I urge the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons to see that Nassar is not allowed to escape his sentence and the consequences of his horrible crimes."