USA doctor sentenced to 175 years in prison for abusing gymnasts
USA doctor sentenced to 175 years in prison for abusing gymnasts : USA gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced to 175 years in prison for abusing young female gymnasts whom he had been taking care of. The victim gymnasts wept bitterly in Michigan courtroom during the proceeding of this case.
"I've signed your death warrant," Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina told Nassar, following days of traumatic accounts from about 160 of his victims.
People present in the courtroom and victims cried, applauded and embraced as Nassar, 54, wearing a dark blue jailhouse jumpsuit, were led out of the courtroom. Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse him in 2016, shared a hug with Angela Povilaitis, the lead prosecutor.
Nassar, who served as the programme's physician through four Olympic Games, had apologized to his victims during the hearing, telling them, "I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days."
But Aquilina turned down his statement as disingenuous and the people present in the courtroom huffed as the judge read aloud from a letter he wrote to her claiming he was a good doctor who was manipulated into pleading guilty.
Nassar, who already is serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison for child pornography convictions, also said his accusers fabricated claims to gain money and fame and wrote, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
"Would you like to withdraw your plea?" Aquilina asked Nassar after tossing aside his letter with visible aversion. "No, your honour," Nassar said. "Because you are guilty, aren't you? Are you guilty, sir?" the judge demanded. After a long pause, Nassar said quietly, "I have said my plea, exactly."
- PTC News
