D.C. sniper claims he was sexually abused

Convicted D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo said in a television interview that aired Thursday that he was sexually abused by John Allen Muhammad, his adult accomplice in shootings that terrorized the Washington D.C. area 10 years ago.

“For the entire period when I was almost 15 until I got arrested, I was sexually abused by John Muhammad,” Malvo said in an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer that was aired on the “Today” show .

Malvo also said he was sexually abused by a babysitter at age 5 and later by relatives when he was around 8 or 9.

Malvo claimed there are still unidentified victims from the pair’s shooting spree and that he contacted the families of some of those victims.

“Without anyone contacting me two and a half years ago, I reached out and I did that…In five different instances in different states,” Malvo said. “But there was a point in time where psychologically, I couldn’t handle it.”

Malvo’s accomplice, Muhammad, was executed by lethal injection in 2009. Malvo is serving a life sentence at a prison in Virginia. The pair were linked to 27 shootings across the country, including 10 fatal attacks in the Washington D.C. area.

Muhammad, a former Fort Lewis soldier, and Malvo lived in the Tacoma area and in Bellingham before heading East for their killing spree.

When asked why he didn’t run away or do something to stop the killings, Malvo said his attachment to Muhammad and the man’s power over him were too strong.

“I couldn’t say no. I had wanted that level of love and acceptance and consistency for all of my life and couldn’t find it. And even if unconsciously or even in moments of short reflection I knew that it was wrong, I did not have the willpower to say no,” he said.

Malvo reiterated comments he made in a previous interview with the Washington Post that he considered himself a monster.

“When someone cannot go beyond themselves and begin to consider how their actions effect others and are solely motivated by their own self interest, we call them psychopaths,” he said.

But Malvo also said he has forgiven himself for the crimes, saying “that’s the only way I can live with myself.”

Lauer told viewers the telephone interview was taped Wednesday and lasted about 40 minutes. Lauer said Malvo told a “Today” show producer this is the last time he plans to give an interview about his crimes.

Asked what he wanted to say to the family members of the pair’s victims he said, “Please, do not allow my actions and the actions of Muhammad to hold you hostage and continue to victimize you for the rest of your life. If you give those images and thoughts that power, it will continue to inflict that suffering over and over and over and over and over again. Do not give me or him that much power.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report