An Ingham County judge has sentenced convicted serial molester Larry Nassar to between 40 and 175 years in prison.
The penalty handed down by Judge Rosemarie Aquilina capped seven days of harsh and heartbreaking testimony from more than 150 women and girls who described Nassar’s abuse. Before issuing her decision, the judge read part of a letter written by Nassar in which he defended his actions as medical procedures, and accused his victims of seeking money.
Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to come forward publicly against Nassar, says she hopes this case will change the culture of sexual abuse.
“You know, something of this magnitude has never happened before,” Denhollander said. “So I have a lot of hope that this will be a watershed moment. What we do with the lessons we learned here when we walk out of this courtroom, particularly what society does with holding enablers accountable...that’s where we’re going to see if we have any change.”
Nassar also faces a 60 year sentence on federal child pornography charges. He’ll be sentenced on three counts of criminal sexual conduct next week in Eaton County.