The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Larry Nassar receives third criminal sentence, with a maximum of 125 years

This is the convicted child molester’s final sentencing hearing

By
February 5, 2018 at 1:32 p.m. EST

Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Will Hobson.

Judge Janice Cunningham delivered a 40- to 125-year sentence to Larry Nassar on Monday, bringing the criminal proceedings against the convicted child molester to a conclusion. More than 260 girls and women have asserted abuse by Nassar who, often under the guise of medical treatment, digitally penetrated and fondled them.

The sentence, for three sexual assault counts Nassar admitted to committing at a local gymnastics center in Dimondale, Mich., doesn’t lengthen what already amounts to a life sentence for the 54-year-old, as he will serve it concurrently with the 40- to 175-year sentence he received last month for seven counts of sexual assault in Lansing, Mich. The former Michigan State University and Olympic gymnastics physician also must serve a 60-year federal term for child pornography charges.

Monday’s sentence brought an end to a three-day hearing featuring 65 emotional impact statements from girls and women who asserted abuse by Nassar, as well as some parents, including Randall Margraves, the father who tried to attack Nassar in court Friday before he was restrained by law enforcement officers. Lauren, Morgan and Madison Margraves — Randall Margraves’s daughters — said they were abused by Nassar.

“I realize they may never trust a man again,” their father said Friday.

Randall Margraves, the father of three women who were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar, lunged at the doctor during his sentencing Feb. 2. (Video: Reuters)

Nassar’s statement

Wearing an orange jumpsuit, Nassar spoke briefly before receiving his sentence.

“The words expressed by everyone that has spoken, including the parents have impacted me to my innermost core . . . It’s impossible to convey the depth and breadth of how sorry I am to each and everyone involved,” he said.

The judge’s sentence

As she issued her sentence, Judge Cunningham termed the scope of Nassar’s crimes “beyond comprehension.” She noted that Nassar still professed his innocence in a letter read aloud by another judge in court last month. He claimed he had been performing legitimate procedures his patients misconstrued as assault.

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina was a strong victims’ advocate in the Larry Nassar case

I am not convinced that you truly understand that what you did was wrong and the devastating impact that you have had on the victims, their families and friends. Clearly you are in denial,” Cunningham said.

The judge also brought up officials’ slow response to claims made by girls and women Nassar treated.

“It is unfathomable to think about the number of victims who could have been spared” had authorities acted on prior complaints, she said Monday.

Several alleged victims have said they raised complaints about Nassar to coaches and trainers at Michigan State as far back as 1997. A 2004 investigation by a local police force in Michigan cleared Nassar, as did a 2014 investigation by Michigan State police and the university’s Title IX office. An FBI investigation, started in 2015 with a complaint from USA Gymnastics, languished for more than a year. Nassar continued to treat, and allegedly assault, patients at a Michigan State clinic until August 2016, when another victim filed a complaint with Michigan State police and told her story to the Indianapolis Star.

Several members of Congress have called for congressional inquiries into how Nassar avoided prosecution for so long.

USA Gymnastics allowed Larry Nassar to prey upon innocent victims. Congress must investigate.

Fallout continues

Over the course of an FBI investigation and Nassar’s three sentencing hearings, public outrage led to the resignation of Michigan State’s president and athletic director. The school faces lawsuits filed by more than 140 alleged victims and parents, a number that could rise. USA Gymnastics is also facing scores of lawsuits.

USA Gymnastics’ chief executive resigned in 2017, and last month, the organization’s entire board of directors resigned.

The United States Olympic Committee has resisted calls from two U.S. senators for its chief executive to resign, and has commissioned an independent investigation by an international law firm to assess any blame Olympic organizations deserve for Nassar’s abuse, which victims alleged occurred at the Karolyi ranch outside Houston — where Team USA women gymnasts formerly trained — and at national and international competitions, including the Olympics.