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Former American gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar is serving long sentences for decades of sexual abuse of young gymnasts. But how did the sports doctor get away with it for so long? (March 2018)

The documentary film Athlete A, starring IndyStar journalists and their coverage of the sexual abuse scandal at USA Gymnastics, will be the premiere of the Tribeca Film Festival.

Journalists Mark Alesia, Tim Evans and Marisa Kwiatkowski, as well as survey editor Steve Berta and visual journalist Robert Scheer, worked on a project that led more than 500 women to report sexual abuse by Larry Nassar, American gymnastics doctor in the United States.

California filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, directors of the 2016 documentary"Audrie & Daisy" and 2017 "An embarrassing result: truth in power", made approximately 10 visits to Indianapolis after IndyStar released its initial "Out of Balance" report in 2016. Cohen and Shenk also accompanied Evans when he reported on a hearing in the United States Senate in 2018 in Washington, DC

"Athlete A", one of the 115 films selected for the New York festival, will be screened on April 17 at Manhattan & # 39; s SVA Theater. the Tribeca Film Festival is scheduled from April 15 to 26.

We couldn't be more thrilled to have our work showcased at such a prestigious event, said Alvie Lindsay, director of news and investigations for IndyStar. It is an honor for IndyStar, and in particular for our team of investigators who worked so hard to uncover the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal and did it in a way that really made a difference.

We view this documentary as another opportunity for this important work to reach a wider audience and to draw more attention to the need for meaningful reform that protects children.

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Nassar is serving a prison sentence of up to 175 years. The prosecutor in the case credited IndyStar and the first woman who came forward by name, Rachael Denhollander, for "what finally started this calculation".

The IndyStar team started investigating allegations of sexual abuse in gymnastics in March 2016 after learning of a lawsuit filed in Georgia against USA Gymnastics, based in Indianapolis.

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The film's title refers to Maggie Nichols, the first athlete to file a sexual abuse complaint about Nassar with senior officials at USA Gymnastics in 2015.

The series "Out of Balance" has won numerous journalism awards, including the 2016 Tom Renner Award for Journalists and Editors-in-Chief and the O & # 39; Brien Fellowship Scholarship Award from the American Society of News Editors in 2018.

Alesia now works as Director of University Communication at Indiana State University. Kwiatkowski is now an investigative reporter for USA Today.

"Athlete A", which will be distributed by Netflix, is designated as a "Spotlight Documentary" by Tribeca. The Spotlight selection list includes "Kubrick by Kubrick", "Banksy Most Wanted" and "Larry Flynt for President".

Founded by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro in 2001, the Tribeca festival attracts around 150,000 participants each year. This year's opening film is "Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President", a documentary devoted to the role of popular music in Carter's election in 1976.

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Contact IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at dave.lindquist@indystar.com or 317-444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @ 317Lindquist.

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