For sexually abusing young girl Nassar disgraced USA gymnastics doctor gets 175 years jail

Disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry
Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in
prison on Wednesday for sexually abusing scores
of young girls under the guise of medical
treatment.
“I’ve just signed your death warrant,” Judge
Rosemarie Aquilina said as she handed down the
sentence after a week of gut-wrenching
testimony by over 150 of Nassar’s victims.
“You do not deserve to walk outside of a prison
ever again,” the judge told the 54-year-old
Nassar in a tense Lansing, Michigan, courtroom.
“Anywhere you walk destruction will occur to
those most vulnerable.”
Minutes ahead of the sentencing, Nassar
apologized in court to his victims, who included
Olympic gold-medal winners Simone Biles, Aly
Raisman, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney
but also scores of female athletes at Michigan
State University, where he worked.
“What I am feeling pales in comparison to the
pain, trauma, and emotional destruction that all
of you are feeling,” Nassar said, turning at
several points to face his victims in court.
“There are no words to describe the depth and
breadth of how sorry I am for what has
occurred,” he said.
More than 150 women and girls accused Nassar
of a pattern of serial abuse dating back two
decades.
The final woman to deliver a statement in court
was Rachael Denhollander, the first to publicly
accuse Nassar of abuse and file a police report
against him.
Calling for the maximum sentence, she asked the
judge: “How much is a little girl worth? How
much is a young woman worth.”
Denhollander said the “brazen sexual assault”
upon her occurred when she was 15 years old
and was carried out “with my own mother in the
room,” unaware of what was going on.
– ‘No white flag’ –
“I assured myself it must be fine because I could
trust the adults around me,” Denhollander said.
“Larry found sexual satisfaction in our suffering,”
she added.
“I pray you experience the soul-crushing weight
of guilt,” she told the slight, bespectacled Nassar,
who was dressed in a blue jumpsuit with the
words “Ingham County Jail” on the back.
Also speaking to Nassar, Sterling Riethman, 25,
said: “This army you have created, we are 150
women strong and counting.
“And let me tell you, this army isn’t going
anywhere,” she said, addressing Nassar but also
sporting authorities at USA Gymnastics (USAG),
the US Olympic Committee (USOC) and Michigan
State University.
“We are here to show you,” Riethman said, “there
is no white flag to wave when it comes to
protecting little girls and their futures.”
Already sentenced to 60 years in prison on
federal child pornography charges, Nassar
pleaded guilty to 10 counts of criminal sexual
conduct. He was sentenced Wednesday on seven
of those counts, with a final additional sentence
to be handed down late this month.
Riethman thanked Judge Aquilina for opening up
the sentencing phase of the trial to anyone who
wished to share their experiences — in what
turned into a cathartic experience for many
survivors.
Parents spoke of the anguish of failing to protect
their children from a predator, and women spoke
of post-traumatic stress and deep emotional
scars.
Olympic gold-medal winning gymnast Aly
Raisman, confronting Nassar on Friday, echoed
the words and feelings of many athletes.
“You are so sick. I can’t even comprehend how
angry I feel when I think of you,” Raisman said.
“Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of
women you so heartlessly abused over such a
long a period of time, are now a force and you
are nothing.”
As victim after victim detailed Nassar’s actions
— they also slammed a lack of accountability
among sporting institutions, with Raisman in
particular demanding an independent probe of
USA Gymnastics to find out how Nassar was
able to abuse girls with impunity.
Three members of the USAG board of directors
resigned on Monday, while John Geddert, a star
coach who owns the Twistars gym, was
suspended pending an investigation.
USAG also severed ties with the famed Karolyi
Ranch — the Texas training facility once
considered a breeding ground of champions —
where Nassar reportedly had unfettered access
to young girls.
Michigan State University is also feeling the
heat: the body overseeing US collegiate sports,
the NCAA, has opened an investigation after a
report claimed MSU president Lou Anna Simon,
athletics trainers, assistant coaches and others
were long informed of misconduct claims
against Nassar.
Nassar remained employed at the university until
September 2016, when allegations against him
were first made public by a newspaper.
MSU is now facing multiple lawsuits. Simon has
resisted claims to resign, but the university has
asked the state attorney general’s office to
investigate the school’s handling of the case.