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Ex-US gymnast doctor sentenced up to 175 years in jail for sexual abuse

Wednesday, 24 January 2018 7:01 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 24 January 2018 7:01 PM ]

Larry Nassar listens to victim impact statements during his sentencing hearing after being accused of molesting more than 100 girls while he was a physician for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University where he had his sports-medicine practice on January 17, 2018 in Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by AFP)

The disgraced long-time USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar has been sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing young female gymnasts.

Following days of testimony in a Michigan courtroom from about 160 of Nasser’s victims, including Olympic gold medalists, the Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina made the ruling on Wednesday.

"I just signed your death warrant," Aquilina told Nassar in imposing the penalty, after delivering a searing rebuke of his years of abuse.

"It is my honor and privilege to sentence you because you do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again,” she added.

Nassar, 54, pleaded guilty in November to seven counts of first-degree sex assault in Ingham County, as well as three additional charges in Eaton County, where he will be sentenced next week. He is already serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison for child pornography convictions.

PressTV-US doctor gets 60 years over sex abuse charges

A US federal court sentences a former sports doctor to 60 years in jail over charges of sexually assaulting gymnasts and child abuse imagery.

Before the sentence was announced, Nassar apologized to his victims, telling them, "I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days."

Women in the US and the UK have recently been coming forward to share accounts of sexual harassment and assault in workplaces, including in the media, entertainment industry, and political environments.

An avalanche of sexual misconduct allegations were made last year in October against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The scandal has rippled in a wide range of industries.

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