Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor, was sentenced to another 40 to 125 years on Tuesday in the conclusion of his months-long trial, according to the Lansing State Journal. Over 260 reports have been filed over the last 30 years accusing Nassar of sexually assaulting victims under the guise of medical treatment arose during the trial.
Tuesday’s sentence is on three charges of sexual assault while practicing at Gedderts’ Twistars Gymnastics Club USA in Dimondale. This is his third decades-long sentence since Dec. 7 when he received his first federal sentence of 60 years in a child pornography case. On Jan. 24, Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years for seven sexual assault charges in Ingham County.
According to the Journal, Eaton County Judge Janice Cunningham, who sentenced Nassar, said Nassar’s crimes towards his child patients resulted in the more than 150 victims presenting public statements at Nassar’s second sentencing at the end of January. Some of Nassar’s victims were as young as six years old when they began to see Nassar for medical treatment.
“When a crime involves a child, when it involves an adult harming an defenseless child, it is only natural to think in terms of an eye for an eye and to want revenge,” Cunningham said at the trial. “You are a doctor, you took an oath to do no harm and you have harmed over 256 women and that is beyond comprehension.”
Prior to his sentencing, Nassar said his response to the words of victims and parents during the trial did not measure up to the crimes he committed and the trauma the victims experienced at his hands.
“The words expressed by everyone that has spoken including the parents, have impacted me to my inner-most core,” Nassar said. “With that being said, I understand and acknowledge that it pales in comparison to the pain, trauma and emotions that you all are feeling. It’s impossible to convey the depth and breadth of how sorry I am to each and every one involved. The visions of your testimonies will forever be present in my thoughts.”
Nassar must serve his federal child pornography charges before he can begin to serve his state charges.
In the fallout of Nassar’s trials, claims were made that Michigan State University administration knew about survivors’ accusations against Nassar for up to 20 years prior to Nassar’s sentencing. In late January, former MSU President Lou Anna Simon stepped down as University president after she reportedly knew about a Title IX investigation into Nassar since 2014.
Rachel Denhollander, the first survivor to publicly accuse Nassar of assault in 2016, gave the final victim impact statement during Nassar’s second sentencing process in January. She said MSU’s handling of the case allowed for Nassar to continue abusing victims for years before he was brought to trial.
“(MSU) did not listen in 1997 or 1998 or 1999 or 2000 or 2004 or 2014,” she said. “Victims were silenced, intimidated, told they were receiving medical treatment, and at times sent back to be further abused. This is what happens when a person puts their selfish desires over the people around them. This is what it looks like when institutions create a culture when a predator can behave unabated.”