Ex-sports doctor's victims draw strength from each other

Clasina Syrovy would change the subject whenever someone asked if she knew former sports doctor Larry Nassar or mentioned news coverage of the unfolding scandal over his sexual abuse of young gymnasts.

FILE- In this Jan. 19, 2018, file photo, Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Wieber gives her victim impact statement in Lansing, Mich., during the fourth day of sentencing for former sports doctor Larry Nassar, who pled guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault. (Dale G. Young/Detroit News via AP, File)

She didn't want to be "another Jane Doe on the list," said Syrovy, who competed for 15 years. She certainly didn't want to reveal herself publicly as a victim.

"But as everything unfolded before my eyes like a really bad 'Lifetime' original movie based on true events, I gained some courage," Syrovy said in court Monday, confronting Nassar at his sentencing hearing. "After watching a few of my former teammates step up and say that this had happened to them also, I gained a little more."

In an extraordinary scene unfolding in a Michigan courtroom, almost 160 women and girls are coming forward — far more than originally expected — to confront the man who molested them when they were vulnerable girls told to trust the doctor who could help them achieve their dreams.

FILE- In this Jan. 19, 2018, file photo, Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman gives her victim impact statement in Lansing, Mich., during the fourth day of sentencing for former sports doctor Larry Nassar, who pled guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault. (Dale G. Young/Detroit News via AP, File)

Nassar, 54, has admitted sexually assaulting athletes under the guise of medical treatment when he was employed by Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which as the sport's national governing organization trains Olympians. He already has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography.

Under a plea bargain, he faces a minimum of 25 to 40 years behind bars in the molestation case. The ultimate sentence imposed could be much higher.

The sentencing has taken on a #MeToo momentum, though the case predates the uproar over Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. It began with a 2016 Indianapolis Star investigation of how USA Gymnastics handled sexual abuse allegations against coaches. That prompted former gymnast Rachael Denhollander to alert the newspaper to Nassar's abuse.

FILE- In this Jan. 22, 2018, file photo, former gymnast Marta Stern speaks during the fifth day of victim impact statements against Larry Nassar in Ingham County Circuit Court in Lansing, Mich. (Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP, File)

"I knew this was the time," Denhollander said. "One anonymous, quiet voice was not going to be enough. I was 100 percent confident there were other victims speaking up and being silenced."

From there, the number of victims coming forward continued to grow, getting another jolt with the sentencing that began last week. Originally, fewer than 90 women and girls were expected to give statements.

Although they can choose to remain anonymous, many of the accusers — some of them minors — have opted to make their names public. Some have had others read statements on their behalf.

On Friday, Olympians Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber made a surprise appearance in court, allowing their names to be used.

"My dream is that one day, everyone will know what the words 'Me too' signify, but they will be educated and able to protect themselves from predators like Larry," Raisman, 23, said.

On Monday, physical therapist and former gymnast Marta Stern said she originally wanted to remain anonymous "out of fear of how it would affect my life, my loved ones and my career."

FILE- In this Dec. 7, 2017, file photo, from the left; Rachael Denhollander, Sterling Riethman, Kaylee Lorincz, Jeanette Antolin and Tiffany Thomas appear at a news conference after Larry Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in prison on child pornography charges in Grand Rapids, Mich. The women are some of the many former patients of Nassar who have accused him of molestation. (Mike Clark/The Grand Rapids Press via AP, File)

"However, I will no longer let you have control over me. I will not let you win," she told Nassar.

Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina addresses each victim after she speaks, serving almost as a therapist. She calls the group of victims an "army," and the courtroom often breaks into applause.

"You're sister survivors and you are going through incomprehensible lengths, emotions and soul-searching to put your words together ... to make people listen," the judge told Syrovy. "He's the one that needs to be ashamed. Release the shame, embarrassment, guilt that you said you have here and now."

The case has triggered calls for the resignation of Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon, while the state's attorney general has agreed to review how the university handled complaints against Nassar. And three key members of the board that oversees USA Gymnastics resigned Monday, 10 months after former President Steve Penny quit after critics said the organization failed to protect gymnasts from abusive coaches and Nassar. USA Gymnastics also announced the suspension of former women's national team coach John Geddert, the owner of a gymnastics club where Nassar sexually abused girls near Lansing, Michigan.

Clasina Syrovy takes a moment to regain her composure Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, during the fifth day of victim impact statements against Larry Nassar in Ingham County Circuit Court in Lansing, Mich. Nassar has admitted molesting athletes during treatment when he was employed by Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. He will be sentenced on sexual assault charges this week. (Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal via AP)

Longtime Detroit defense attorney David Steingold, who isn't involved in the case, supports the judge's decision to let so many victims testify, even if the crimes for which he is being sentenced involve only seven.

"It's the least we can do for these women," said Steingold, noting that women often are afraid of being made to feel responsible for allowing abuse to happen.

Harvard psychiatry professor Dr. Judith Lewis Herman said she has never seen so many victims of one perpetrator come forward, and the #MeToo movement almost certainly played a role.

"When powerful celebrities come forward years later and admit how intimidated and shamed they were for so many years, I think that has been enormously empowering to other survivors," she said, adding that the experience of knowing they're being heard is "enormously healing."

Even so, victims will pay a price for coming forward, said victim Marion Siebert.

"Every time someone Googles them, for the rest of their lives, they will see the sickening things we're talking about here today," she said. "When they apply for a job, when they go on a first date, they won't be able to be the ones to fully make the choice on when to talk about what happened. This terrible part of their past is exposed to all."

Syrovy said that speaking up will allow her to move forward.

"After today, I will not cry anymore," she told Nassar. "I am done. ... You are a disaster."

SYDNEY (AP) — The people killed and wounded by an assailant at a Sydney shopping mall were mostly women.

A police officer shot and killed the man who had attacked people at the busy Westfield Bondi Junction mall, and his family said he had a long history of schizophrenia, lacked social skills and had a fascination with knives. Police said their investigation would include why he targeted women and avoided men during his attack.

Those killed were five women and one man. Twelve people were wounded, and police said they mostly were female.

Here’s some information on those killed.

Friends and family of 38-year-old osteopath Ashlee Good remembered her as a “beautiful mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend” and an “all-round outstanding human."

Good's 9-month-old daughter was wounded and was in serious but stable condition in a hospital Monday.

Good reportedly passed her baby to two strangers nearby before she lost consciousness. “To the two men who held and cared for our baby when Ashlee could not — words cannot express our gratitude,” the family's statement read.

Good's father, Kerry Good, is a former Australian Rules football player and a current board member of the North Melbourne AFL club. In honor of Ashlee, the club wore black armbands in its match on Sunday.

Dawn Singleton was the 25-year-old daughter of well-known businessman John Singleton.

She worked as an e-commerce assistant for a women's fashion outlet in Sydney, which said in a social media post they had “not only lost an employee but someone special to us who felt like a family member.”

“Dawn was a sweet, kind hearted person who had her whole life ahead of her. She was really amazing," White Fox Boutique said in an Instagram post.

“We send our love and deepest condolences to her partner, the Singleton family and her friends.”

Singleton's LinkedIn profile says she was a communications graduate from the University of Technology, Sydney and had worked at the trendy fashion line since 2020.

She was soon to be married to her police officer partner.

The only male killed was Faraz Tahir, a 30-year-old Pakistani refugee who worked at the mall as a security guard.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia said Faraz had been in Australia for less than a year and was a “cherished member of our community” and was a dedicated security guard who tragically lost his life while serving the public during this attack.

“He quickly became an integral part of our community, known for his unwavering dedication and kindness,” the organization said in a statement.

It also said Faraz contributed to charitable endeavors supporting Muslim youth in Sydney.

Faraz was credited with trying to stop the attack.

“We are devastated by Faraz’s passing and recognise our team member’s bravery and role as a first responder,” Elliott Rusanow, CEO of the mall owner Scentre Group, said in a statement to Nine News. “Another member of our security team was injured and remains in hospital.”

Jade Young, 47, was a mother of two who had been an architect for more than two decades.

Young lived in Bellevue Hill, an eastern Sydney suburb near the shopping mall, and was a volunteer member of the Bronte Surf Life Saving Club.

“I sadly have to report that a Bronte SLSC member, Jade Young, lost her life during the tragic events in Bondi Junction yesterday,” the club said in a statement to Nine News.

“Some of you might have known Jade as she and her family have been active in youth education."

Pikria Darchia, 55, was named as the fifth victim late Sunday.

According to Darchia's profile on professional networking site LinkedIn, she was an artist and had worked as a designer for 10 years in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Prior to that she had finished a masters degree in performance art at the Tbilisi State Academy of Art.

In Australia, she studied business administration. Darchia's profile said she spoke English, Russian and Georgian.

Further details about her have not been released, and her family has requested privacy.

Yixuan Cheng, a Chinese graduate student, was the final victim to be identified Monday.

Chinese news service Sydney Today reported the 27-year-old was studying for a master's degree in economics at the University of Sydney.

The report said she had called her fiance in China, who has only been identified as Wang, just minutes before the attack.

“She happily talked to me on the phone at around 3 p.m. She even tried on clothes for me to see,” Wang said.

After the attack, Wang said he had tried to call Cheng “day and night, but there was no contact at all."

The family spent the next 24 hours watching news of the attack in hope of an update, before receiving the heartbreaking news of her death.

Wang said the pair had planned to marry after Cheng graduated.

The Sydney Opera House is illuminated with a black ribbon Monday, April 15, 2024, as part of the national day of mourning following the stabbing deaths of several people at a shopping mall in Sydney's East on April 13. Australian police are examining why a lone assailant who stabbed several people to death in a busy Sydney shopping mall and injured more than a dozen others targeted women while avoiding men. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

In this undated photo provided by the family of Jade Young and distributed by the New South Wales Police Jade Young holds a dog at an unknown location. Young, 47, was killed in a deadly attack at a Sydney shopping center on Saturday, April 13, 2024. (Courtesy of Young Family/NSW Police via AP)

A note is attached to flowers at a tribute near a crime scene at Bondi Junction in Sydney, Monday, April 15, 2024, after several people were stabbed to death at a shopping, Saturday April 13. Australian police are examining why a lone assailant who stabbed multiple people to death in a busy Sydney shopping mall and injured more than a dozen others targeted women while avoiding men. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A man places flowers as a tribute near a crime scene at Bondi Junction in Sydney, Monday, April 15, 2024, after several people were stabbed to death at a shopping on April 13. Australian police are examining why a lone assailant who stabbed several people to death in a busy Sydney shopping mall and injured more than a dozen others targeted women while avoiding men, a police commissioner said on Monday. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

In this undated photo provided by the family of Jade Young and distributed by the New South Wales Police Jade Young holds a dog at an unknown location. Young, 47, was killed in a deadly attack at a Sydney shopping center on Saturday, April 13, 2024. (Courtesy of Young Family/NSW Police via AP)