Former gymnasts say the Karolyis did nothing to stop Nassar sex abuse
Some of Larry Nassar's alleged sexual abuse victims are demanding that the state of Texas take action against two legendary gymnastics coaches. The former gymnasts claim that Bela and Martha Karolyi, who ran a USA Gymnastics training center in Texas for nearly 20 years, knew about the abuse and did not try to stop it. More than 250 women and girls have accused Nassar of sexual abuse.
Former gymnasts Jamie Dantzscher and Jeanette Antolin say they were sexually abused by Nassar for years, often while training at the Karolyi Ranch in Texas.
"We're not backing down, we're not going away," Dantzscher told CBS News' Omar Villafranca. "We're going to keep fighting until the right people are held accountable for the mistakes they've made."
The ranch, site of the USA Gymnastics training facility, is now closed, but there are still questions about what trainers Bela and Martha Karolyi knew, and when they knew it.
"They had to have known. They knew everything else about everything else we were doing," Dantzscher said.
"If they didn't know that we were being abused, they still knew that a grown man was coming into a child's room at night time by himself," Jeanette Antolin said.
Last month, the Karolyis filed a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee, seeking damages and to not be held responsible for several civil lawsuits filed by Nassar's victims. The Karolyis claim they did not know about allegations of sexual abuse against Nassar until after the 2016 Olympic Games.
But that contradicts a sworn deposition from May of last year. In it, Martha Karolyi appears to admit USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny warned her in 2015 about Nassar's abuse.
"Were you ever advised by any USAG official in or around June of 2015 that they had received a complaint that Dr. Nassar had molested a national team gymnast at the ranch?" the interviewer asked, to which Martha replies, "Yes I did." When asked by whom, she says, "Mr. Penny."
In a statement, an attorney representing the Karolyis said "multiple objections were made to the question" during the deposition, adding "Martha misunderstood the question and misspoke."
"I believe that she's lying. I think she's backpedaling now because she knows that she is in deep water. Like, now she's exposed herself of knowing what was going on," Antolin said.
CBS News reached out to USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Both declined to directly address the Karolyis' case. The Texas rangers and the Walker County Sheriff's Office have an open investigation into Nassar's alleged crimes. They will turn their findings over to the district attorney.