Disgraced USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar moved to a new prison after being 'attacked by inmates when he was released into the general population'

  • Larry Nassar, 54, was allegedly assaulted by fellow inmates at the federal prison in Tuscon, Arizona in May after being released into general population
  • The Federal Bureau of Prisons has confirmed Nassar is now being held at the Oklahoma Federal Transfer Center
  • The former doctor, 54, was sentenced to 60-year federal sentence for possessing child pornography
  • He was also sentenced to up to 175 years in state prison for molesting athletes
  • His attorney is asking that he be re-sentenced by a different judge in the first of the major molestation cases he faced 

Former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to life in jail for molesting young athletes, has been moved to another prison after he was assaulted behind bars.

Nassar was attacked by inmates at the high-security prison in May almost immediately after he was released into the general population of prisoners at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.

The former doctor, 54, who suffered some injuries in the attack, was jailed there in February after he was sentenced to life in prison for molesting athletes and possessing child porn, according his lawyer.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has confirmed that Nassar is now being held at the Oklahoma Federal Transfer Center. The center is a temporary holding prison for inmates who have yet to be assigned to a permanent prison facility

 It's not clear when the transfer took place. 

Larry Nassar, 54, (pictured in court in January 2018) was allegedly assaulted by fellow inmates at the federal prison in Tuscon, Arizona in May after being released into general population. He has now been moved to another prison 

Larry Nassar, 54, (pictured in court in January 2018) was allegedly assaulted by fellow inmates at the federal prison in Tuscon, Arizona in May after being released into general population. He has now been moved to another prison 

Ralph Miller, a retired Bureau of Prisons employee, told Detroit News that Nassar could be transferred to another high security prison in Florida or Indiana after it became clear that the Tuscon prison could not house him safely. 

'This is a difficult case for the Bureau of Prisons in that Nassar's case is highly publicized and he will be known to the inmate population no matter which facility is selected,' Miller said. 

'Due to this, the Bureau of Prisons is likely to utilize all available high security facilities prior to reviewing him for placement in a medium with in excess of 30 years to still be served.' 

Nassar's lawyers have asked for him to be re-sentenced by a different judge in the first of the major molestation cases he faced. 

In the motion, first reported by The Detroit News, Nassar's attorney accused Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina of deciding to impose the maximum sentence allowed before the hearing even began.

McCann wrote that by allowing 150 of Nassar's victims to give testimony, Judge Aquilina gave them the opportunity to 'devolve into a free-for-all' to criticize him and wish him physical harm. 

The  former US Olympic gymnastics doctor was allegedly assaulted in May soon after he was released into the general population of prisoners at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson (pictured). He has now been moved to the Oklahoma Federal Transfer Center

The former US Olympic gymnastics doctor was allegedly assaulted in May soon after he was released into the general population of prisoners at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson (pictured). He has now been moved to the Oklahoma Federal Transfer Center

'The judge herself openly lamented that she could not impose cruel and unusual punishment upon the defendant, indicated her expectation that he would be harmed in prison, without condemning it, and finally proclaimed, with apparent relish, that she was signing his 'death warrant,' McCann wrote. 

'Unfortunately, Judge Aquilina's comments and conducting of the sentencing proceeding appeared to encourage this type of behavior.' 

Nassar is serving a 60-year federal sentence at the Arizona prison for possessing child pornography. He was also sentenced to up to 175 years in state prison for molesting young athletes. He agreed to a 25 to 40-year minimum term.

The prison where he currently is housed is the country's only federal facility that is classified as high security and also has a sex offender management program. 

141 of more than 200 women who were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar took the stage at the ESPY Awards to receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award

141 of more than 200 women who were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar took the stage at the ESPY Awards to receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.