US Gymnastics Doctor Faces up to 175 Years for Sexual Assault

After a week of testimonies from more than 150 victims of Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar, he was finally sentenced on Wednesday to 40 to 175 years in prison for molesting scores of young gymnasts over the last two decades.

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"I've just signed your death warrant," Judge Rosemarie Aquilina told Nassar, adding he would be imprisoned 60 years more for separate charges of child pornography crimes.

“You do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again,” the judge continued. “Anywhere you walk destruction will occur to those most vulnerable.”

As a doctor for USA Gymnastics, Michigan State University (MSU), as well as a private gymnastics club, Nassar molested dozens of young athletes under the guise of medical treatment.

Victims have also criticized the above organizations for ignoring initial complaints about the doctor.

Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney has accused the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) for covering up Nassar’s behavior and for creating a "culture and atmosphere that conceals known and suspected sexual abusers.”

Judge Aquilina expressed agreement, saying in court, "There has to be a massive investigation as to why there was inaction, why there was silence.”

Shortly after Wednesday’s hearing, USOC announced it would hire a third-party investigation to inquire why Nassar got away with his actions for so long, with USA Gymnastics to be included in the investigation, and the results made public.

Judge Aquilina also factored Nassar’s letter to the victims in her decision, which included him writing, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"You don't get it," she told the former doctor. "You're dangerous. You remain a danger."

Later on Wednesday, MSU President Lou Anna Simon announced her resignation, after receiving criticism for not intervening in the cases of abuse.

“As tragedies are politicized, blame is inevitable. As president, it is only natural that I am the focus of this anger,” Simon said in her resignation letter.