--- description: Former former USA Gymnastics trainer Debra Van Horn, who worked with Larry Nassar, was arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting a child title: Former USA Gymnastics Trainer Arrested in Houston image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd07077aed9420a1/698939a4457a52f313d5f500/rts20cwv.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Crime](/tag/crime/) ## Crime Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Former USA Gymnastics Trainer Who Worked With Larry Nassar Arrested on Sexual Assault Charge by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 7, 2018 3:15 AM CUT  Former USA Gymnastics trainer Debbie Van Horn appears in a booking photo provided by Walker County Jail in Huntsville, Texas, on Sept. 6, 2018. Former USA Gymnastics trainer Debbie Van Horn appears in a booking photo provided by Walker County Jail in Huntsville, Texas, on Sept. 6, 2018.Walker County Jail Handout/Reuters by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 7, 2018 3:15 AM CUT A longtime former USA Gymnastics trainer, who worked with disgraced former team doctor [Larry Nassar](http://time.com/5243688/mckayla-maroney-larry-nassar-gymnastics/ "undefined"), has been arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting a child. The Houston _Chronicle_ reports that Debra Van Horn, 63, was apprehended at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Thursday by Homeland Security upon returning to the U.S. on a flight from China, according to a release from Walker County District Attorney’s Office. “Ms. Van Horn is returning to the United States to answer these false accusations and clear her impeccable name and reputation,” said Van Horn’s attorney Emily DeToto. “Ms. Van Horn is charged as a ‘party, under the law of parties.’ That’s just a fancy way of saying, ‘guilt by association.’” DeToto added that “Ms. Van Horn is innocent of these charges.” Van Horn’s bond is set at $20,000 and she is expected to appear in court on Sept. 24. Van Horn and Nasser were [indicted in June](https://www.apnews.com/bd896e3407bf448c850960c2a1997b07 "undefined") on second-degree sexual assault of a child charges from alleged incidents at the Karolyi gymnastics ranch in Texas, the Associated Press reported. Van Horn was indicted on one count, Nassar was indicted on six. Van Horn, a 30-year veteran of USA Gymnastics, was involved in numerous gymnastics youth development programs and a medical supervisory task force, according to AP. In January, one of Nassar’s victims said Van Horn was in the room “many of the times” while Nassar abused her, AP [reports](https://www.apnews.com/bd896e3407bf448c850960c2a1997b07 "undefined"). Van Horn was the [first person other than Nassar](https://apnews.com/253cfb8eb88342469d14bbbdd467f326 "undefined") to be charged in the abuse scandal. She is no longer a USA Gymnastics employee, according to the organization. Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics doctor, was sentenced in January to a maximum of [175 years in prison](http://time.com/5116872/judge-larry-nassar-sentencing/ "undefined") for [sexual abuse](http://time.com/5254262/rachael-denhollander-gymnast-testimony-larry-nassar-time-100-2018/ "undefined") spanning a period of 20 years. In total, 156 women testified against him at [emotional, week-long hearings](http://time.com/5118151/larry-nassar-sentencing-victims/ "undefined"). He was also sentenced to [60 years in prison](https://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/07/us/larry-nassar-usa-gymnastics-sentence/index.html "undefined") on separate child pornography charges in December 2016. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5389591/debbie-van-horn-arrest-nassar-gymnastics-sexual-assault/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5389591/debbie-van-horn-arrest-nassar-gymnastics-sexual-assault/"},"headline":"Former USA Gymnastics Trainer Who Worked With Larry Nassar Arrested on Sexual Assault Charge","datePublished":"2018-09-07T03:15:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:22:20.539Z","description":"Former former USA Gymnastics trainer Debra Van Horn, who worked with Larry Nassar, was arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting a child","url":"https://time.com/5389591/debbie-van-horn-arrest-nassar-gymnastics-sexual-assault/","keywords":["Crime","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd07077aed9420a1/698939a4457a52f313d5f500/rts20cwv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd07077aed9420a1/698939a4457a52f313d5f500/rts20cwv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former USA Gymnastics trainer Debbie Van Horn appears in a booking photo provided by Walker County Jail in Huntsville, Texas","caption":"Former USA Gymnastics trainer Debbie Van Horn appears in a booking photo provided by Walker County Jail in Huntsville, Texas","creditText":"Walker County Jail Handout/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/crime/","name":"Crime"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5389591/debbie-van-horn-arrest-nassar-gymnastics-sexual-assault/","name":"Former USA Gymnastics Trainer Who Worked With Larry Nassar Arrested on Sexual Assault Charge"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"'It Demands Justice.' 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