CHARLOTTE, Mich. (AP) — The former sports doctor whose serial sexual abuse of girls and young women has shaken the gymnastics world was sentenced Monday to a third prison term of 40 to 125 years behind bars for molesting young athletes at an elite Michigan training center.
Larry Nassar, 54, listened to dozens of victims for two days last week and was almost attacked by a man whose three daughters said they were abused.
He pleaded guilty to penetrating girls with ungloved hands when they sought treatment for injuries at Twistars, a gymnastics club that was run by a 2012 U.S. Olympic coach. Nassar already has been sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison in another county and to a 60-year federal term for child pornography crimes. He worked for Michigan State and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.
Randy Margraves was tackled by sheriff’s deputies Friday before he could pummel Nassar in court. He said he wanted just a minute in a locked room with the “demon.”
“This cannot be a lawless society. I know that,” Margraves, 58, told reporters during a public apology. “I lost control, but I gained control later in a holding cell.”
More than 260 women and girls say they were assaulted by Nassar, some as far back as the 1990s. Most victims who wanted to speak publicly or submit a statement did so earlier during Nassar’s seven-day court hearing in Ingham County, including 2012 Olympic teammates Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber and McKayla Maroney.
The scandal has rocked Michigan State, which has been accused of repeatedly missing opportunities to stop Nassar, who had a campus office and was a revered figure in sports medicine.
Lou Anna Simon resigned as Michigan State’s president on Jan. 24 and athletic director Mark Hollis followed two days later. The longtime leader of USA Gymnastics, Steve Penny, quit last March, and all board members recently stepped down at the demand of the U.S. Olympic Committee. A law firm has been hired to investigate how the USOC responded to its knowledge of allegations against Nassar.
I saw a tape of a father trying to get at this creep last week. I understand one dad who had refused to believe his daughter had been abused, committed suicide when he realized just how badly he had failed his child.
This guy is truly a monster.
Yes, and I think it would be helpful if the article mentioned that this monster molested three of Mr. Margraves’ daughters. I do not blame him one bit for losing control.
Neither did the judge, who released him without charges.
I have to say, when the judge said “I just signed your death warrant,” that was a very low class and inappropriate display of opinion from what is supposed to be a dispassionate court system.
Also, it’s very disconcerting that the general public uses the idea of prison-rape as a secondary means of obtaining revenge. It’s disgusting, actually.
That being said, I’m very glad Nassar is going to prison. His crimes are horrible, and can’t be measured with one remaining lifetime in prison. I am glad that, despite how barbaric our judicial system and the people who run it are, we still get ‘justice’ right now and again.
This guy is the perp, but he was deeply embedded in the US Gymnastics and US Olympics hierarchy. The professionals in his sphere who turned a blind eye to Nassar every day deserve special condemnation. What a bunch of vile, evil human beings.
When you look into the reporting on this matter, you discover that young women at Michigan State had been complaining for some time, but the administration just papered over their complaints. They just took Nassar’s word that he was providing legitimate medical treatment and not engaging in sexual abuse.