On February 5th, Larry Nassar was sentenced for the third time on the charge of sexual abuse against 156 victims that he had molested and sexually assaulted. He also had been charged with child pornography and was sentenced to 60 years in prison on top of the 175 years from the previous charges. Nassar pleaded guilty to only seven accounts of sexual assault and continued to write a letter to the judge stating that he was forced into pleading and accused all the victims of lying. “I was a good doctor because my treatments worked, and those patients are now speaking out are some of the ones that praised and came back over and over… The media convinced them that everything I did was wrong and bad. They feel I broke their trust. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” said Nassar. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina then tossed this letter to the side, stating “The letter tells me you still don’t get it… I wouldn’t send my dogs to you sir.” Judge Aquilina continued on to say, showing no remorse through the entire trial for Nassar.

“I’ve just signed your death warrant,” she stated, continuing on to say “I find that you don’t get it, that you’re a danger…that you remain a danger.” Judge Aquilina was unphased when Nassar continued to plea against her, saying that “there are no words to describe the depth and breadth of how sorry I am for what has occured.” Victim after victim took to the stand to give their stories of how Nassar took advantage of them when they visited his office for a sport-related injury. Eighty one victims were originally supposed to speak during the trial, but the number doubled as more victims found their voice.

By the end of the trial, Nassar had witnessed girl after girl state how he had defaced their bodies when they trusted him to make them better. Seven days worth of girls saying that he ruined so many aspects of their lives. One hundred fifty six women spoke during Nassar’s trial of how they will never trust doctors and continue to feel uncomfortable in their own skin. However, Assistant Attorney General Angela Povilaitis, Nassar’s attorney, said, “the breadth and ripple of this defendant’s abuse and destruction is nearly infinite.”

Many women that were ‘examined’ by Nassar went to the different organizations in charge, like USA Gymnastics, and reported the abuse. Unfortunately, however, the women’s concerns were pushed to the side and their voices ignored.

One of the final women to talk on the stand was Rachael Denhollander. She was the first woman to speak out against Nassar and his treatments in the September issue of the Indy Star in 2016. She explained how the system failed and silenced her and how she was greatly upset by how it not only failed her and other women but continued to let the abuse continue even after hearing multiple complaints.