Sisters Tasha and Jordan Schwikert-Warren have filed lawsuits against USA Gymnastics (USAG), the US Olympic Committee (USOC) and former USAG doctor Larry Nassar for enabling and failing to prevent the unlawful abuse of young women in their care. The lawsuits are the first concerning Nassar to seek damages under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as they argue that the defendants engaged in racketeering including sexual exploitation, abuse and trafficking of minors, as well as conspiracy to commit such acts.

In the two lawsuits (PDFs below), Sydney 2000 bronze medal winner Tasha Schwikert-Warren alleges that Nassar sexually abused her for a decade; whilst her sister alleges sexual abuse by Nassar for two years. In both lawsuits, the sisters allege that USAG and the USOC gave Nassar ‘unfettered access’ to young girls, and referred the sisters to him for medical treatment even though they ‘knew or should have known’ about his sexual abuse of girls.

The lawsuits argue that both USAG and the USOC could have prevented such sexual abuse by taking allegations against Nassar seriously. They allege that both organisations had reason to fire him before he abused them. In a press conference, the sisters said that they were motivated to launch the lawsuits after discovering that Steve Penny, former President of USAG, had tampered with evidence during the investigation into Nassar. Their lawsuits allege that USAG kept a ‘secret file’ of sexual abuse allegations, and ‘enabled a culture of psychological and physical abuse that kept young girls […] silent’.

In her lawsuit, Jordan Schwikert-Warren alleges that Nassar advised her to push through a back injury following treatment which sometimes involved sexual abuse, after which she was forced to withdraw from competition for over a year due to a fractured back. ‘[Nassar] advised [Jordan Schwikert-Warren] to stay in the competition because [he] desired further opportunities for medical treatment of [Schwikert-Warren] and for his personal sexual gratification’, it reads. 

‘[USAG] receives millions of dollars in private donations and corporate financial support, including athletic sponsorships. USAG knew that acting on the complaints of [Nassar] and other affiliated sexual predators would subject it to public scrutiny, government investigations and the risk of civil liability and criminal convictions’, it continues. ‘Disclosure of the pervasive accusations of sex abuse would also break the façade of its undeserved reputation as a safe and fun recreational program for our country’s girls. [USAG] concealed the culture of abuse and sex abuse to put its profits ahead of its participants, shattering the innocence of hundreds of young girls across the country. This culture of concealment and secrecy effectively attracted child sex abusers and gave them a captive audience on whom to commit their fetishes for sexual gratification.’