LANSING, Mich. — Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman on Friday confronted her former doctor who has pleaded guilty to multiple sexual assaults, warning him that the testimony of the “powerful army” of 140 survivors at his sentencing will haunt him in prison.
More than 80 of the women and girls whom Larry Nassar abused under the guise of medical treatment have stood before the court during a marathon sentencing hearing that began Tuesday, describing with eloquence and sometimes tears the harm Nassar did and the impact he has had on their lives.
“You have not taken gymnastics away from me,” Raisman said. “I love this sport, and that love is stronger than the evil that resides in you, in those who enabled you to hurt many people.”
Facing pressure over how Michigan State University handled allegations made against Nassar when he was employed there, the school’s board of trustees on Friday asked the state’s attorney general to investigate but stood by university president Lou Ann Simon — who is facing growing calls to resign or to be fired.
“Through this terrible situation, the university has been perceived as tone deaf, unresponsive and insensitive to the victims. We understand the public’s faith has been shaken. The board has listened and heard the victims,” chairman Brian Breslin said after a closed-door meeting that lasted more than four hours. Trustees declined to answer reporters’ questions.
Nassar also was a team doctor at the Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.
Nassar pleaded guilty to molesting girls at his university office, at home and at a Lansing-area gymnastics club, sometimes with a parent present. Already sentenced to 60 years in prison on a separate federal child pornography conviction, the 54-year-old man can expect to be behind bars for the rest of his life. Raisman hoped the testimonies of her fellow survivors will never leave him.
“All these brave women have power, and we will use our voices to make sure you get what you deserve — a life of suffering spent replaying the words delivered by this powerful army of survivors,” Raisman said.
