HOUSTON, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Governor of Texas Greg Abbott on Tuesday ordered investigation into sexual assault allegations at a gymnastic facility in the state.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the governor's office, Abbott asked the Texas Rangers to investigate misconduct allegations at the famed Karolyi Ranch, the East Texas training facility where Larry Nassar had treated athletes.
"The public statements made by athletes who previously trained at the Karolyi Ranch are gut-wrenching," Abbott said in the statement, adding "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."
Nassar, former U.S. Olympic gymnastic doctor, was sentenced last Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison for molesting young girls under the guise of treatment after a week-long hearing that featured statements from 156 of his accusers.
Karolyi Ranch, run by national team coordinator Martha Karolyi and her husband Bela, was previously the training center for the women' s national gymnastic team.
The ranch hosted training camps for more than a decade until earlier this year. Several gymnasts have said Nassar abused them at the ranch.
The governor ordered the state investigation because the claims involve multiple jurisdictions and states.
The U.S. Olympic Committee last Wednesday announced an independent investigation intended to determine how the sexual abuse from Nassar could have gone for as long as it did.
On Jan. 22, USA Gymnastics Board of Directors executive leadership -- Chairman Paul Parilla, Vice Chairman Jay Binder and Treasurer Bitsy Kelley -- announced their resignations.
Michigan State University (MSU) on Friday accepted the resignation of its President Lou Anna Simon over the university's failure to stand up for victims of Nassar, who sexually abused young athletes when he worked in MSU.
Meanwhile, Michigan State University athletic director Mark Hollis announced on Friday that he was retiring. Hollis' departure is another development in the fallout from Nassar's sex abuse scandal.
