How the Investigative Reporting on Larry Nassar, Ford Motor Company, and Amazon Unfolded
On the challenges and immense responsibility of reporting on sexual harassment and abuse
As Indianapolis Star reporter Mark Alesia watched Rachael Denhollander deliver her victim impact statement during the trial of former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, he saw “the power one person has to change things.”
Denhollander was the first woman to have publicly accused Nassar of sexual abuse. In her statement, Denhollander said she had waited 15 years to be believed. On August 4, 2016, IndyStar reporters Marisa Kwiatkowski, Mark Alesia, and Tim Evans published their investigation on sexual abuse by coaches and USA Gymnastics’ failure to report them to authorities. The team hadn’t heard a word against Nassar until Denhollander contacted them a few hours later.
“Rachael and her husband, Jacob, live in a small home. They’re devout Christians and have three kids who were, at the time, all five years old and under. She is also a lawyer,” Alesia says. On the day of her first interview with IndyStar, during which she decided to go on the record, Denhollander “had more than 100 pages of medical documents ready.” Alesia left the interview feeling “like this could be a very big deal.”
