Dr. Larry Nassar sentenced to 40 to 175 years for sexual abuse

After an extraordinary seven-day hearing that drew more than 150 young women to speak out publicly about sexual abuse they said was committed by Lawrence G. Nassar, the former team doctor for the American gymnastics team, a judge sentenced him on Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison.

He had faced a minimum term of 25 to 40 years.

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who had opened her courtroom to all the young women who wanted to address Nassar directly, and forced him to listen when he pleaded to make it stop, handed down the sentence, saying to him, “You’ve done nothing to deserve to walk outside a prison again.”

“It is my honour and privilege to sentence you,” she said, and noting the length of the sentence, added, “I just signed your death warrant.”

Given an opportunity to address the court before sentencing, Nassar apologized and, occasionally turning to the young women in the courtroom, said: “Your words these past several days have had a significant effect on myself and have shaken me to my core. I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days.” Several women sobbed in the gallery as he spoke.

Nassar, 54, was accused of molesting girls for years under the guise of giving them medical treatment. Some were as young as six. Many of them were Olympic gymnasts. In November, he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing seven girls. He had already been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for child pornography convictions.

The case led to the resignation this week of the chair and several board members of the governing body for gymnastics in the United States, USA Gymnastics.

There have also been calls for the resignation of the president of Michigan State University, where Nassar spent decades on the faculty and treated its athletes.

He also treated some members of the U.S. national gymnastics team there.

The NCAA on Tuesday formally opened an investigation into the university’s conduct.

A number of civil lawsuits have also been filed.

The sentencing hearing itself, streamed live on the internet, garnered much attention for extending several days to allow for victim impact statements from girls and women who said they were molested by Nassar over the years.

The final three of 156 victims spoke on Wednesday.