In a story that is making headline news, disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor, Larry Nassar has been sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. Revealed yesterday by numerous news outlets, Nassar’s sentencing serves as a huge step in the right direction towards protecting innocent young women from sexual abuse. It is our sincere hope, here at Allegiant Experts, that this story will shed light on a topic that has gone unnoticed for far too long.
And, more importantly, we hope that both the long prison term and the harsh words doled out by the judge will serve as deterrents to other would-be perpetrators. Nassar’s acts were repulsive and unforgivable. With more than 150 young women giving victim testimonies in court, it is undeniable that this story tells of one of the worst cases of child molestation in U.S. history.
“I’ve just signed your death warrant.”
As Eric Levenson of CNN reports, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina did not mince words in her Lansing, Michigan courtroom. “I’ve just signed your death warrant,” she said of the long prison sentence, “I find that you don’t get it, that you’re a danger. That you remain a danger.” Aquilina also pointed out that many of her former defendants have gone on to be rehabilitated. She expressed her confidence that Nassar would not be one of those defendants.
The young women Nassar sexually abused during his time as their doctor are of the same mind. As mentioned, many of them spoke about being manipulated and taken advantage of by the now-54 year-old pedophile. Among them was Kyle Stephens who requested to speak directly to the defendant.
“I’m here, not to tell someone, but to tell everyone.”
Although visibly shaken, Stephens was able to bravely confront her molester. “Sitting on my living room couch, I listened to you tell me no one should ever do that, and if they do, you should tell someone,” she recalled, “Well Larry, I’m here, not to tell someone, but to tell everyone.”
As the many women spoke about their horrific experiences with Nassar – a doctor who masked his sexual abuse as necessary treatment – it was learned that their cries for help were ignored by adults they reported the abuse to. “Many of the women said that when they spoke up about the treatment, they were ignored or their concerns brushed aside by organizations in power, primarily USA Gymnastics, Michigan State University and the US Olympic Committee,” reports Levenson.
“You turned out to be the scariest monster of all.”
Former gymnast, Mattie Larson spoke to this point as she tearfully informed the court of her attempts to injure herself in order to get out of training. Doing so, she thought, would help her to avoid Nassar. She called out Debbie Van Horn, a USA Gymnastics trainer who was in the room during times when Larson was being abused by Nassar – a man she described as “the scariest monster of all”.
Thankfully, Nassar will die in prison as he is guaranteed to never live outside of a prison cell for the rest of his life. However, we sincerely hope his sentencing will do more than just prevent him from hurting another person again. Allegiant Experts applauds Judge Aquilina’s harsh sentencing and words for her defendant. Here’s hoping they will serve to protect young women everywhere from experiencing the same type of abuse that was suffered by Nassar’s victims.
If you’re an attorney trying a medical misconduct case, please don’t hesitate to contact the clinical experts at Allegiant Experts to find out how we may be able to help. Call us at 407-217-5831 or email us at info@allegiantexperts.com.