Today, USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was convicted with the maximum sentencing for child sexual assault: up to 175 years. Nasser had been a part of the USA Gymnastics team medical staff as an athletic trainer since 1986 and had been involved in Michigan State’s gymnastics team previously. His first sexual abuse complaint from an Olympic gymnast was filed over 30 years ago, with another complaint from an MSU gymnast 20 years ago. This case has been timely with the #MeToo movement, given its disregard from the authorities originally. “I just signed your death sentence,” Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said as she sentenced him.
Nassar only admitted to molesting seven girls, including a close family friend’s daughter who was six at the time. However, over 150 victims came to his sentencing to tell their stories. Some of the names of the victims include Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney. This high profile case not only includes household athletes names, but also has “nearly as many victims as the Jerry Sandusky, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Weinstein scandals combined.”
Courtesy: NBC News
In 2016, The Indianapolis Star published their investigation on the USA Gymnastics team’s response to sexual abuse complaints over the decades. This started a slew of events; in 2000, Olympic gymnast Rachael Denhollander went to the MSU police about how Nassar sexually abused her at the tender age of 15. By November, officials at a press conference received around 50 complaints. Later, the FBI searched Nassar’s house and found “at least 37,000 images and videos of child pornography.” As more and more women came out, the story became more repulsive; during all of these years of abuse, many people turned a blind eye. While USA Gymnastics and Michigan State both claimed to have reported Nassar’s abuse when they learned about it, several victims dispute their assertion and say they were ignored. This led the MSU Head Gymnastics Coach, Kathie Klages, to retire after allegations of her discouraging her gymnasts to file complaints against Nassar. Several board members of USA Gymnastics also resigned. CNN reports that one of the survivors from MSU, Amanda Thomashow, said, “Michigan State University, the school I loved and trusted, had the audacity to tell me that I did not understand the difference between sexual assault and a medical procedure.” Another survivor, Olivia Cowan, stated, “I want MSU and USAG to know what they have done is on the very same level of accountability as the crime Nassar has committed.”
The sentencing took days as multitudes of victims flew in. One of those victims was Aly Raisman, Olympic gold medalist and two-time team captain for the USA Olympic Gymnastics Team, has been seen as the brave face in this case. On Friday, her words for Nassar were resonant: “Imagine feeling like you have no power and no voice. Well you know what, Larry? I have both power and voice and I am only beginning to just use them.”