Gov. Abbott Orders Texas Rangers To Investigate Karolyi Ranch

NEW WAVERLY, TX — The ranch that became the famed training center for world-class gymnasts has tumbled to become the epicenter of an investigation by the top cops of Texas. On Tuesday morning Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate sexual assaults and other criminal activity at the Karolyi Ranch near New Waverly, just south of Huntsville.

Karolyi Ranch, owned and operated by world-renowned gymnastics coaches Martha & Bela Karolyi, became the national training center for USA Gymnastics and the home to intense training for national and international events. The ranch is now under scrutiny after former team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced up to 175 years in jail for multiple sexual assaults on nearly a hundred female athletes, most of them minors.

Several gymnasts publicly lashed out about ongoing abuse at the training center while giving victim impact statements before Nassar was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty in a Michigan courtroom.

"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.”

Earlier this month USA Gymnastics terminated its contract with Karolyi Ranch as its national training center, and the national governing body is now looking for a temporary training site and eventually a permanent home.

One day after contract termination, the Walker County Sheriff's Office launched its own investigation into the ranch.

Image: Martha & Bela Karolyi as well as J. Turner, Jeff Diskin with gymnasts display banners for their facility as Karolyi Ranch was named an official training site for USA Gymnastics on January 26, 2011 near Huntsville, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images for Hilton)