AUSTIN, Texas _ Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday asked the Texas Rangers to investigate allegations that athletes were sexually assaulted at Karolyi Ranch in Huntsville, the former national training center for the USA Gymnastics team.
Several gymnasts spoke out about enduring abuse at the center while giving victim-impact statements before Larry Nassar, a former sports doctor, who was sentenced last week to 40 to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty in a Michigan courtroom to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct.
"The public statements made by athletes who previously trained at the Karolyi Ranch are gut-wrenching," Abbott wrote in a letter to Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
"Those athletes, as well as all Texans, deserve to know that no stone is left unturned to ensure that the allegations are thoroughly vetted and the perpetrators and enablers of any such misconduct are brought to justice. The people of Texas demand, and the victims deserve, nothing less," he wrote.
Abbott's letter noted that the Walker County sheriff's office is investigating the allegations, adding that the Texas Rangers are in a better position to investigate criminal action that has taken place "across multiple jurisdictions and states."
