The disgraced long-time USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced on Wednesday to up to 175 years in prison for molesting young female gymnasts, following days of wrenching testimony in a Michigan courtroom from about 160 of his victims, including Olympic gold medalists.
"I just signed your death warrant," Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina told Nassar in imposing the penalty, after delivering a searing rebuke of his years of abuse.
"It is my honor and privilege to sentence you because you do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again."
Some victims dabbed their eyes after Aquilina spoke, although the audience obeyed the judge's instruction to remain quiet following her pronouncement.
Nassar, 54, pleaded guilty in November to seven counts of first-degree sex assault in Ingham County, as well as three additional charges in Eaton County, where he will be sentenced next week. He is already serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison for child pornography convictions.
Before the sentence was announced, Nassar apologized to his victims, telling them, "I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days."
But Aquilina angrily dismissed his statement as insincere, reading aloud from a letter Nassar wrote to her in which he claimed he was a "good doctor" who was "manipulated" into pleading guilty, drawing gasps from the courtroom.
In the wake of the verdict, Michigan lawmakers voted overwhelmingly for a resolution seeking the ouster of Michigan State University's president, over allegations that the school missed chances to stop Nassar from sexually assaulting girls and women.
The state House approved the nonbinding measure hours after Nassar was sentenced Wednesday. Nassar worked at Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.
The resolution says legislators have "lost confidence" in President Lou Anna Simon's ability to lead a transparent investigation, to implement changes, to protect students and to lead the university. It calls for her to resign or be fired by Michigan State's governing board.
The board so far has stood behind Simon, while awaiting a review by Michigan's attorney general.
Source: SNBC
--The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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