Ex-USA Gymnastics doctor faces second
sentencing
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[January 31, 2018]
By Steve Friess
(Reuters) - Former USA Gymnastics doctor
Larry Nassar is scheduled to appear in a Michigan courtroom on Wednesday
for a second sentencing hearing, after already being sentenced to 40 to
175 years in prison for abusing young female gymnasts who were entrusted
to his care.
Dozens of victims are expected to appear in court, as they did in the
previous hearing, to tell a judge how Nassar abused them as young
athletes under the guise of medical treatment. The hearing is expected
to last several days.
More than 150 victims offered searing accounts of his sexual assaults in
another courtroom in Lansing, Michigan.
As part of his agreement with state prosecutors, Nassar, 54, pleaded
guilty last fall to two sets of charges in different counties and must
be sentenced separately for each set.
The latest proceeding in Eaton County, Michigan, will unfold as fallout
from the scandal continues.
Around 140 victims have filed a lawsuit against Nassar, USA Gymnastics
and Michigan State University (MSU), claiming the institutions knew
about allegations of abuse years ago and failed to act.
USAG said last week after Olympic officials threatened to decertify the
organization as the sport's U.S. governing body that its entire board
had resigned, and sponsors have already backed away ahead of the 2020
Olympic Games.
The USOC, which has been criticized by victims as well, has announced an
independent investigation into both its own conduct and that of USAG.
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Larry Nassar, a former team USA Gymnastics doctor who pleaded
guilty in November 2017 to sexual assault charges, stands with his
legal team during his sentencing hearing in Lansing, Michigan, U.S.,
January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The Michigan attorney general's office, which prosecuted Nassar, is
pursuing a criminal probe into the school over its handling of
allegations against Nassar. The university's president and athletic
director stepped down in the wake of Nassar's sentencing.
At least one congressional committee plans to hold hearings on the
scandal. The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on
Monday and the Senate on Tuesday to require USOC officials to
immediately report any allegations of abuse to law enforcement.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday asked a state law enforcement
agency to investigate Karolyi Ranch, a training facility where
female athletes said they were molested by Nassar.
Nassar faces a minimum of 25 years in prison in Eaton County, though
he is already assured of spending the rest of his life in prison. He
is serving a 60-year federal prison term for a child pornography
conviction.
(Reporting by Steve Friess; Writing by Joseph Ax)
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