The disgraced physician will die behind bars for the sexual abuse of athletes under the guise of treatment, but the search for justice has only just begun
The courtroom erupted into applause on Wednesday afternoon as Larry Nassar, the former USA gymnastics team doctor and Michigan State University sports medicine physician, exited stage left to spend the rest of his life in prison for the systematic sexual abuse of athletes under his care. Survivors and their families in the gallery wept and embraced. It was a catharsis hard-won by the bravery of dozens of young women, empowered by solidarity, who stepped forward to hold the powerful to account.
The terms of Nassar’s guilty plea on seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct allowed for anyone who said they were a victim to read an impact statement in court. Remarkably, the total of 88 girls and women initially scheduled to speak nearly doubled over the course of the sentencing hearing as it spilled over into a second week. One by one they faced their nightmare incarnate, from household names like six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman, whose scorched-earth salvo will be long remembered, and countless more who never reached the elite level, putting forth searing testimony on the pathology of a sociopath who leveraged his authority and professional heft to betray the trust of young athletes and their families.
Continue reading...from US news | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2FdHi0S
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