Gymnasts weep as doc jailed

175 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ABUSING ABOUT 160 YOUNG FEMALE VICTIMS

As his victims wept in a Michigan courtroom, disgraced long-time US Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for abusing young female gymnasts.

“I’ve signed your death warrant,” Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina told Nassar, following days of accounts from about 160 of his victims.

Spectators and victims cried, applauded and embraced as Nassar, 54, wearing a dark blue prison jumpsuit, was led out of the courtroom. Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar in 2016, shared a hug with Angela Povilaitis, the lead prosecutor.

After the sentence decision, the president of Michigan State University, where Nassar worked, said she was resigning after facing a barrage of criticism for not doing enough to halt the abuse.

The chief of the US Olympic committee called for all US Gymnastics directors to resign.

Nassar, who served as the programme’s physician through four Olympic Games, apologised to his victims during the hearing, telling them, “I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days.”

Aquilina dismissed his statement as insincere and courtroom spectators gasped as the judge read aloud from a letter he wrote to her claiming he was a good doctor who was manipulated into pleading guilty.

Nassar, who already is serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison for child pornography convictions, also said his accusers fabricated claims to gain money and fame, writing, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

“Would you like to withdraw your plea?” Aquilina asked Nassar after tossing aside his letter. “No, your honour,” Nassar said. “Because you are guilty, aren’t you? Are you guilty, sir?” the judge demanded.

After a long pause, Nassar said quietly, “I have said my plea, exactly.”

The prosecution and Aquilina emphasised the broader signifi- cance of the sentencing, coming amid a national debate over sexual misconduct prompted by accusations against powerful men from Hollywood to Washington. Aquilina rattled off a series of statistics about the prevalence of sexual abuse before saying, “It stops now.” –