Larry Nassar sentenced to 175 years in prison

Larry Nassar sentenced to 175 years in prison

Larry Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison on Wednesday after a highly emotional seven-day sentencing hearing in a Michigan courtroom. 

'I just signed your death warrant,' said Judge Rosemarie Aquilinia, referencing the fact that Nassar would never again be a free man and die in prison.

Nassar had agreed to serve a minimum sentence of 40 years as part of a plea deal, with that prison time coming after he completes his 60-year federal sentence for child pornography charges.

He was expected to get a maximum of 125 years in prison, but Judge Aquilina went well beyond that mark. 

Prior to that, the pedophile doctor addressed his victims in a brief statement, choosing to turn and face the women as he made his remarks.

'Your words these past several days, your words, have had a significant emotional effect on myself and has shaken me to my core,' he mumbled through tears.

'I also realize what I'm feeling pales in comparison.'

He then added: 'I will carry you words with me for the rest of my days.' 

Those tearful words were revealed to be completely hollow however by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who proved that point by reading from the letter that Nassar submitted to the court last week.

'What I did in the state cases was medical, not sexual, but because of the [federal porn conviction] I lost all credibility,' read Judge Aquilina from the letter.

'So I'm trying to avoid a trial to save the stress to my community, my family. But look what's happening. It's wrong.'

He then wrote about his victims in words that were a far cry from the statement he had made moments earlier in court.

'I was a good doctor, because my treatments worked and those patients that are now speaking out were the same ones that praised and came back over and over,' wrote  Nassar. 

'The media convinced them that it was wrong and bad.'

The crowd gasped as the letter then read: 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' 

It was a shocking moment, and it seemed as if Judge Aquilina might be considering revoking the plea at one point. 

Those gasps quickly turned to laughter however when Judge Aquilina read a subsequent line in Nassar's letter in which he painted himself to be a martyr.

'I was so manipulated by the Attorney General and now Aquilina, and all I wanted was to minimize stress to everyone,' wrote Nassar.

There were few laughs, however, when he made his next point in the letter, with Judge Aquilina reading: 'Now [the victims] are seeking the media attention and financial reward.'

Judge Aquilina had reached her breaking point by then, and reminded Nassar of his plea agreement.

'Would you like to withdraw your guilty plea?', she asked the doctor.

When Nassar declined she quickly pushed back however, not wanting to let this point rest after 156 victims had shared statements with the court.

'Because you are guilty, correct?' asked Aquilina.

Nassar then responded by mumbling: 'I've said my plea.'

Given his uncooperative state, Judge Aquilina decided at that point to speak for Nassar.

"You, sir, decided on a plea because there was no medical treatment. You did this for your own pleasure,' she told the defendant, who was flanked by his shell-shocked defense attorneys.

'This letter tells me you have still not owned what it is that you did. That you still think you're right, a doctor.'

Judge Aquilina then declared: 'I wouldn't send my dogs to you, sir.'

She then questioned why Nassar never sought treatment for what was clearly a lifelong perversion.

'Aside from the letter that you wrote, a couple months after your plea, which tells me you still don't get it, there's still something I don't understand,' said Judge Aquilina.

'Sir, you knew you had a problem. That's clear to me. You knew you had a problem from a very young age. You could have taken yourself away from temptation and you did not. Worse yet, there isn’t a survivor that didn’t come in and say how world-renowned you were.' 

Those women were now dealing with the price they have been forced to pay for Nassar's untreated predilections.

'You can’t give them back their innocence, their youth,' said Acquilina of the victims, all of whom she had allowed to receive restitution. 

'You can’t give a father back his life.'

Judge Aquilina then took the letter and tossed it towards the defendant, washing her hands of it for good.

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