US sports doctor jailed for up to 175 years

Michigan sports doctor Larry Nassar has been sentenced to 40-to-175 years in prison for sexually assaulting gymnasts and other young women and girls - including US Olympians.

The sentence was handed down following a seven-day hearing in which 156 victims, including Olympic champions Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, testified against Nassar, delivering a series of emotional victim impact statements in person. 

The 54-year-old worked at Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.

Nassar had pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting seven girls in his care, but a further 156 victims came forward during the hearing, which was open to all of his accusers.

“It is my honor to sentence you because, sir, you do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again,” said judge Rosemarie Aquilina. “Anywhere you walk, destruction would occur to those most vulnerable.”

Aquilina said she had just “signed [Nassar’s] death warrant”, adding that the sentence not only reflected the seven counts to which he had pled guilty, but also the survivors who had come forward during the sentencing hearing.

Nassar also has a 60-year prison sentence for child pornography crimes.