US Olympics Doctor Jailed for 175 years
Disgraced long-time US Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar has been sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for molesting young female gymnasts, following days of wrenching testimony from about 160 of his victims, including Olympic gold medallists.
“I’ve just signed your death warrant,” Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina told Nassar in imposing the penalty, after delivering a searing rebuke of his years as an abuser.
Judge Aquilina also scoffed at the apology Nassar offered his victims and said he would be required to make restitution to them. Some victims dabbed their eyes after Judge Aquilina spoke, while Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to come forward publicly in 2016, smiled. Spectators applauded when the hearing ended and Nassar, wearing a dark blue jail house jumpsuit, was led out of the court. Nassar, 54, pleaded guilty in November to seven counts of first-degree sex assault in Ingham County, as well as three additional charges in Eaton County, where he will be sentenced next week.
He is already serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison for child pornography convictions. Nassar, who served as the USA Gymnastics physician through four Olympic Games, apologised to his victims before the sentencing, telling them: “I will carry your words with me for the rest of my
days.”
But Judge Aquilina angrily dismissed his statement as insincere, reading aloud from a letter Nassar wrote to her in which he claimed he was a “good doctor” who was “manipulated” into pleading guilty, drawing gasps from the courtroom spectators. Nassar also claimed his accusers fabricated claims to gain money and fame and wrote, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
“This letter tells me you still do not own what you did,” Judge Aquilina said, after angrily tossing the sheet of paper aside. Michigan Assistant AttorneyGeneral Angela Povilaitis said the conclusion of Nassar’s case takes the victims’ shame and puts it “where it belongs, right on him”. “At this particular moment in history, this sentence and hearing will be viewed as a turning point in how our community, our state, our nation, our culture looks at sexual abuse,” she said.