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Judge's response to Olympic gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar after 156 women he abused confronted him in court
The judge had a scathing six-word response to the disgraced Olympic gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar's letter after he was confronted by the 156 women he abused in court.
The former medic, who worked at Michigan State University, was convicted of sexually abusing young athletes under the guise of medical treatment in 2017 and 2018.
The 63-year-old is currently serving a 60-year federal sentence on charges of child sexual abuse images.
He was also sentenced in 2018 to a 40-to-175-year Michigan state sentence after pleading guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct, before receiving a separate 40-to-125 year sentence the following month for three additional counts.
At his sentencing hearing, more than 150 women submitted victim impact statements describing the abuse they endured.
'I just signed your death warrant'
Before Judge Rosemarie Aquilina handed down the sentences, she read parts of a letter the doctor had sent to her two months after he pleaded guilty.
"I was a good doctor because my treatments worked," she read from Nassar’s letter, cited by Time. "And those patients that are now speaking out were the same ones who praised and came back over and over and referred family and friends to see me."
"The media convinced them that everything I did was wrong and bad. They feel I broke their trust. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. It is just a complete nightmare. Stories are being fabricated to sensationalize this…I was so manipulated by the attorney general and now by Judge Aquilina. And all I wanted was to minimize stress to everyone," he added.
After reading the excerpts, the judge looked at Nassar and said: "I wouldn’t send my dogs to you, sir. This letter tells me you have not yet owned what you did. You still think somehow you are right, you’re a doctor, that you’re entitled so you don’t have to listen. That you did 'treatment.'"
When allowed to speak, Nassar claimed that he was "shaken," adding: "Your words have had a significant emotional effect on myself, and shaken me to my core."
"I recognize that what I am feeling pales in comparison to the pain, trauma, and emotional destruction I caused," he continued. "No words can describe the depth of how sorry I am for what occurred. I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days.”
The judge was unmoved by his statement and said she was sure that he would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
"You do not deserve to walk outside a prison ever again," she said. "Anywhere you walk, destruction will occur to those most vulnerable. I find that you don’t get it. That you’re a danger."
"You remain a danger. I’m a judge who believes in life and rehabilitation when rehabilitation is possible. I don’t find that’s possible with you. I just signed your death warrant," she brutally concluded.
Aquilina also spoke about the urgent necessity of investigating institutional failures as numerous victims filed a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics, Michigan State University, and the U. S. Olympic Committee for failing to report and remove Nassar despite early complaints.