Ex-Olympic doctor Larry Nassar gets up to 175 years for assaulting gymnasts
Former doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison Wednesday after listening to days of testimony from women and girls who say they were sexually assaulted by the Michigan sports doctor.
In doling out her sentence, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said to Nassar: “I just signed your death warrant.”
“As much as it was my honor and privilege to hear the sister survivors, it is my honor and privilege to sentence you,” Aquilina said. “Because, sir, you do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again.”
Aquilina is also calling for an investigation of how years of allegations against him were handled.
“Justice requires more” than what she can do, she said.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last week accepted Michigan State's request to investigate how the school handled complaints about Nassar. Michigan State said a “review is needed to answer questions that persist.”
Many victims say they reported Nassar's abuse to various members of university staff. Michigan State said campus police got its first report in 2014. The Ingham County prosecutor declined to file charges.
More than 150 victims appeared in court in Lansing, Mich., or had their statements read by others since last week. Aquilina heard a few more Wednesday before sentencing Nassar. He worked at Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.
Nassar turned to the courtroom gallery to make a brief statement before his sentence Wednesday. He says the testimony of more than 150 victims since last week has “shaken me to my core.”
He said, “I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days” as many of his accusers openly wept.
Nassar pleaded guilty to assaulting seven people, but the hearing has been open to anyone who said they were a victim.
They said Nassar would use his ungloved hands to penetrate them while they were seeking treatment for various injuries.
Prosecutor Angela Povilaitis says Nassar found competitive gymnastics to be a “perfect place” for his crimes because victims saw him as a “god” in the sport. She also says Nassar was “possibly the most prolific serial child sex abuser in history.”
The last witness to speak at the sentencing hearing was Rachael Denhollander, who says Larry Nassar groped, fondled and penetrated her with his hands when she was a 15-year-old gymnast in Michigan.
Denhollander's statements to Michigan State University police put the criminal investigation in high gear in 2016.
Denhollander said Wednesday that she did it “because it was right.” She told Nassar in court, “You have become a man ruled by selfish and perverted desires.”
This story will be updated.
