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USA Gymnastics doctor receives 60-year sentence for child pornogoraphy charges

By The Sports Xchange
Former MSU and Olympic team gymnastics physician Larry Nassar is being sentenced to six years in jail on child pornography charges. Photo courtesy of WXYZ Detroit.
Former MSU and Olympic team gymnastics physician Larry Nassar is being sentenced to six years in jail on child pornography charges. Photo courtesy of WXYZ Detroit.

Former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was given a 60-year sentence for possession of child pornography in federal court on Thursday in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Judge Janet T. Neff handed the 54-year-old Nassar the maximum sentence on three child pornography charges of receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography and destruction and concealment of records.

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Each conviction carried a 20-year sentence for Nassar, who had pleaded guilty to those charges in July.

"He should never have access to children again," Judge Neff said during court proceedings, per MLive.

Investigators said Nassar was in possession of more than 37,000 videos and images of child pornography that were discovered on a hard drive inside a curbside trash barrel when police searched his home more than a year ago.

Nassar addressed the judge in a courtroom filled with victims and their families.

"It's something, your honor, I'm very ashamed of," Nassar said, per MLive. "I lost everything because of this."

Nassar has previously pleaded guilty to using his position to sexually assault girls and young women.

He repeated his plea of guilty on Nov. 22 for seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in a district courtroom in Lansing, Mich. Each offense will come with a minimum of 25 to 40 years of prison time and a maximum of a life sentence.

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Nassar's sentencing hearing has been set for Jan. 12 when all of the 125 victims or their parents will be allowed to give victim impact statements. Among the star gymnasts to accuse Nassar of abusing them are gold medalists McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas.

Nassar, who is being sued by 125 women and girls, was the USA Gymnastics' team physician for nearly 20 years, beginning in 1996. USA Gymnastics fired him in the summer of 2015. He also was the team physician for the Michigan State University gymnastics and women's crew teams as well as an associate professor at MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine.

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