The shocking case of Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in jail for 10 counts of sexual assault against girls and young women, has concluded.
The disgraced former US Olympics doctor, who had already been sentenced to 60 years for possession of child pornography, was confronted by nearly 160 of the young women he abused and assaulted during the trial.
During proceedings, Nassar wrote a letter to the judge presiding over the case, Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina.
In it, he claimed he was a good doctor and had been manipulated into saying he had administered unnecessary treatments. He also criticised the judge for turning his trial into a media circus.
The media is sensationalising this. The [attorney general's office] forced me to [plead guilty]. I was so manipulated by the AG, and now Aquilina, and all I wanted was to minimise stress to everyone.
The FBI investigated [my Olympic treatments] in 2015 because nothing was wrong. Now they're seeking the media attention and financial reward.
Judge Aquilina took his letter and tossed it away, before turning to him and asking:
Would you like to withdraw your plea?
After a moment of hesitation, he said "no".
Her actions have been immortalised in gif form, and people can’t stop sharing it:
This GIF of Judge Aquilina throwing away the letter Larry Nassar wrote the court about how hard it is for him to li… https://t.co/QC9o888IKl— Ellie Hall (@Ellie Hall) 1516816088
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina is thoroughly disgusted and out of giveable fucks. Her reading of the letter Larry Nassar… https://t.co/f2m01yTCjq— shauna (@shauna) 1516815107
Many of the victims who spoke, expressed graduate towards the judge, including Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles
To Judge Aquilina : THANK YOU, YOU ARE MY HERO & Shout out to all of the survivors for being so brave & speaking… https://t.co/LMgmYeH8Vy— Simone Biles (@Simone Biles) 1516824753
Someone called it one of the most powerful victories of #MeToo
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina is a badass: letting all 140+ Larry Nassar / USA Gymnastics abuse victims come forward to… https://t.co/PIAD7VRI3y— MARGARET STOHL (@MARGARET STOHL) 1516798762
People are also praising Judge Aquilia for the compassion and empathy she demonstrated towards the victims. She allowed all the young women who wished to waive their anonymity to deliver a victim impact statement, making the trial run over several days.
At the end of the sentencing, she delivered a scathing speech to Nassar, in which she admitted it was her “honour and privilege” to sentence him, declaring:
I just signed your death warrant.
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