McKayla Maroney's Statement Read at Larry Nassar's Sentencing Hearing After Celebrity Outcry

A statement from Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney was read in court on day three of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar‘s sentencing hearing for sexual abuse.

Maroney, 22, was not in Michigan’s Ingham County Circuit Courtroom on Thursday, where a number of Nassar’s victims gathered to speak against the disgraced former doctor. But, on Maroney’s behalf, Assistant Attorney General Angela Povilaitis read a passionate letter written by the young woman, in which she writes directly to Nassar about the alleged abuse she endured.

“I did it. I got there,” Maroney’s statement said, per MLive. “But not without a price. … I had a dream to go Olympics and things I had to do to get there are disgusting.”

She reportedly added: “He was not a doctor. He was a child molester. He left scars on my psyche that will never go away.”

The statement comes after USA Gymnastics faced backlash when it was revealed that Maroney could face a $100,000 fine if she spoke publicly about Nassar’s abuse, violating a nondisclosure agreement she signed in 2016. Celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen, Kristen Bell and more vowed to pay the fine for Maroney so she could give her victim impact statement.

However, the organization released a statement on Tuesday evening saying it had no plans to hold Maroney to her nondisclosure agreement, which had a penalty for violating its terms.

More than 130 women and girls have accused Nassar, 54, of assault, including gymnasts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas. Nassar pleaded guilty in November to several counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. The sentencing is expected to last four days.

“For all those involved, I’m so horribly sorry,” Nassar, 54, said in court at the time of his sentencing. “I want them to heal. I want this community to heal.”

Maroney initially revealed her alleged abuse in an October Twitter post, writing then that she was just 13 years old when the abuse began, adding that it lasted until she left the sport.

She described an incident that allegedly occurred in 2011 when she competed in the world championships in Tokyo. Maroney wrote that Nassar “had given me a sleeping pill for the flight, and the next thing I know, I was all alone with him in his hotel room getting treatment.”

Nassar was fired by USA Gymnastics in 2015 after working with the organization since 1986 — he had been its national medical coordinator since 1996, the New York Times reported. He was fired from Michigan State in 2016.