Report: Alleged Attacker Says Nassar Made Lewd Remark

A prisoner suspected of stabbing Larry Nassar at a federal penitentiary in Florida said the disgraced former sports doctor provoked the attack by making a lewd comment about wanting to see girls playing while they were watching a Wimbledon tennis match on TV, the AP reports, citing "a person familiar with the matter." The inmate, identified as Shane McMillan, was previously convicted of assaulting a correctional officer at a federal penitentiary in Louisiana in 2006 and attempting to stab another inmate to death at the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, in 2011, court records show.

McMillan attacked Nassar in his cell Sunday with a makeshift weapon, stabbing him multiple times in the neck, chest, and back before four other inmates rushed in and pulled him off of Nassar, according to the AP's source. Correctional officers assigned to the unit at the United States Penitentiary Coleman responded to Nassar's cell and performed what officials said were life-saving measures. He was taken to a hospital, where he remained in stable condition Wednesday with injuries including a collapsed lung. Cell doors on most federal prison units are typically open during the day, letting prisoners move around freely within the facility. Because Nassar was attacked in his cell, the incident was not captured on surveillance cameras, which only point at common areas and corridors.

McMillan is scheduled to be released from prison in May 2046, according to a Bureau of Prisons inmate database, though that could change if he is charged with and convicted of attacking Nassar. McMillan was originally sentenced to more than 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in Wyoming to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in 2002. He had been expected to be released next year before his convictions for the two prison attacks more than doubled his sentence. Sunday's attack was the second time Nassar has been assaulted in federal custody. He is serving decades in prison for sexually abusing athletes, including college and Olympic gymnastics stars, and possessing explicit images of children. (More on that first attack here.)