Former US Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar has been sentenced to 40 to 125 years in prison for three counts of sexual assault at a Michigan gymnastics centre, in addition to a sentence of 40 to 175 years already handed down for molesting a horrific number of former patients.
The new sentence marks the end of criminal proceedings against Nassar. Nearly 260 girls and women provided testimony against the 54-year-old, including Olympic gold medallists Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.
Prior to his sentencing, Nassar told the court he was sorry for his actions, and that “it’s impossible to convey the depth and breadth of how sorry I am to each and everyone involved.”
Eaton County Circuit Judge Janice Cunningham disputed that claim, pointing to a pre-sentencing interview held last month in which he defended the legitimacy of his so-called medical treatments.
Nassar’s new sentence will be served concurrently with the previous sentence. He was already serving 60 years in federal prison for the possession of child pornography.
While the criminal trial is over, the ramifications of Nassar’s monstrous crimes will likely have serious implications in civil court. Michigan State, the school which employed Nassar, is facing lawsuits from more than 140 alleged victims. The school’s president and athletic director have already resigned.
The United States Olympic Committee has also commissioned a massive third-party investigation to determine who in the organisation’s structure may have been responsible for allowing Nassar’s abuses to go unchecked.
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