A former sports doctor, Larry Nassar who treated some of the best American athletes at the highest level, has been sentenced 175 years in prison for s
A former sports doctor, Larry Nassar who treated some of the best American athletes at the highest level, has been sentenced 175 years in prison for sexually molesting about 150 of the nation’s top gymnasts for years under the guise of medical treatment was sentenced. The sentence capped a remarkable seven-day hearing.
“It is my honor and privilege to sentence you. You do not deserve to walk outside a prison ever again. You have done nothing to control those urges and anywhere you walk, destruction will occur to those most vulnerable. Your actions were precise, calculated, manipulative, devious, despicable,” said. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina who sentenced him.
When the hearing ended, the courtroom broke into applause. Victims and prosecutors embraced at the conclusion of the grueling 16-month case. Before serving the sentence, the 54-year-old must first serve a 60-year federal sentence for child pornography crimes. With credit for good behavior, he could complete that sentence in about 55 years. By then, he would be more than 100 years old if still alive.
He is also scheduled to be sentenced next week on more assault convictions in Eaton County, Michigan. A prosecutor called Larry Nassar, possibly the most prolific serial child sex abuser in history and said competitive gymnastics provided the perfect place for his crimes because victims saw him as a god. Prosecutor Angela Povilaitis also said Larry Nassar perfected a built-in excuse and defense as a doctor, even though he was performing hocus-pocus medicine.
“It takes some kind of sick perversion to not only assault a child but to do so with her parent in the room, to do so while a lineup of eager young gymnasts waited,” Povilaitis said.
She urged people to believe young victims of sexual abuse no matter who they accuse and praised journalists, including those at the Indianapolis Star. The newspaper’s 2016 investigation of how the sport’s governing body handled sexual abuse allegations against coaches prompted a former gymnast to alert the paper to Larry Nassar. Although Nassar’s work with gymnasts received the most attention, the allegations against him spanned more than a dozen sports over 25 years.
The judge read from a letter that Larry Nassar had written to her that raised questions about whether he was truly remorseful. The victims who packed the courtroom gasped as they heard passages that included “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” and another in which Nassar said the “stories” about him were fabricated. He also defended his actions with the athletes as medical, not sexual.
“I was a good doctor because my treatment worked, and those patients that are now speaking out were the same ones that praised and came back over and over, and referred family and friends to see me,” Nassar wrote.
Accusers said he would use his ungloved hands to penetrate them, often without explanation, while they were on a table seeking help for various injuries. The accusers, many of whom were children, said they trusted Nassar and were in denial about what was happening or were afraid to speak up. He sometimes used a sheet or his body to block the view of any parent in the room.
Several elite former gymnasts talked about how Nassar won their allegiance with candy, Olympic trinkets and encouraging words while they were under constant scrutiny from demanding coaches. The judge praised the victims who appeared in her court, calling them “sister survivors.” The women included Olympians Aly Raisman Jordyn Wieber and McKayla Maroney. The judge also called for a broader investigation into how the abuse was allowed to go on for so long. She said justice “requires more” than what she can do.
