Dr. Larry Nassar pleads guilty to 7 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct

LANSING, Mich. — For more than 14 months, through more than a 100 sexual assault allegations, former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar had maintained that he performed legitimate medical procedures.

That changed Wednesday morning.

Nassar, 54, of Holt, Michigan, pleaded guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with seven victims. All but one was abused during a medical appointment. Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina accepted his guilty pleas and set a his sentencing hearing for Jan. 12. 

Allegations that Nassar sexually assaulted female gymnasts were first reported in September 2016 as part of an IndyStar investigation into sexual abuse in women's gymnastics. After that story was published, more than 100 victims — from club gymnasts in Michigan to several former Olympians — came forward claiming Nassar sexually assaulted them under the guise of performing medical treatment.

Most recently, 2016 Olympians Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas have claimed they were abused by Nassar, who served as the USA Gymnastics team physician during four Olympic Games. Nassar left his position with the Indianapolis-based Olympic governing body in 2015 with little public notice.

None of the charges to which Nassar entered guilty pleas Wednesday involved the Olympic gymnasts.

Judge Aquilina said the sentencing hearing in January would run all day or multiple days if needed to allow all victims who desire to make statements, the Lansing State Journal reported. 

The judge could order Nassar to serve the rest of his life in prison. He also faces sentencing Dec. 7 in a separate federal child pornography case. He pleaded guilty to those charges in July.

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Nassar's plea is part of an agreement with the Michigan Attorney General's Office, which is prosecuting the former Michigan State University doctor. 

In exchange for his guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed to drop other charges, not to add charges for other sexual assault incidents known at this time and not to charge him on child pornography evidence that doesn't relate to the federal charges.

Nassar pleaded guilty to several charges involving a victim who was younger than 13. State statute sets the minimum for those charges at 25 years, but the agreement sets a minimum sentence range of 25 to 40 years, with the judge setting the minimum. The charges for victims who were older than 13 don't have mandatory minimums. 

All the charges carry maximum sentences of up to life in prison. 

Nassar also faces sexual assault charges in Eaton County, Michigan. A plea hearing in that case is set for Nov. 29.  

With the exception of a few, the sexual assault allegations against Nassar relate to medical appointments that included digital vaginal and anal penetration without gloves, consent or prior notice. Several women have said Nassar was sexually aroused or that he massaged their breasts. 

The allegations became public in September 2016, after the Indianapolis Star detailed the accounts of two women, including Rachael Denhollander. Since then, more than 120 have gone to police and at least 140 have filed lawsuits related to alleged sexual assaults by Nassar.

“I was terrified,” Denhollander told IndyStar last year. “I was ashamed. I was very embarrassed. And I was very confused, trying to reconcile what was happening with the person he was supposed to be. He’s this famous doctor. He’s trusted by my friends. He’s trusted by these other gymnasts. How could he reach this position in the medical profession, how could he reach this kind of prominence and stature if this is who he is?”

She said she figured the problem must be with her.

“Part of that, I know now, is a very common response that victims have,” Denhollander said. “It’s much easier in some ways to hide from what’s happening and just go somewhere else mentally. It was easier to not have to verbalize and recognize what was happening.”

Years later, while Denhollander and her husband, Jacob, were dating and contemplating a future together, she nervously told him about the alleged abuse. They were on swings at a playground.

“She was telling it from the perspective of feeling that she was damaged goods, that she was broken, and would I put up with that,” Jacob Denhollander said. “To me, that was one of the most heartbreaking things, to hear that had been her experience, and her perspective was, ‘I’m dirty because of it. I’m damaged.’”

When Denhollander saw an IndyStar story in August 2016 about sexually abusive coaches working in gyms sanctioned by USA Gymnastics, she said she decided it was time to come forward and try to put a stop to Nassar's abuse. It was the first time she, or any of Nassar's other victims, had spoken publicly about the abuse allegations.

Days after the IndyStar story was published, Nassar, through his attorneys Matt Newburg and Shannon Smith, denied any wrongdoing. 

"These techniques are medically accepted and appropriate treatments, according to doctors who practice osteopathic manual medicine," his attorneys wrote in a statement. 

"Any allegations that Dr. Nassar was performing these procedures for any purpose other than proper medical treatment are patently false and untrue."

But Wednesday morning, on the third floor of Veterans Memorial Courthouse in downtown Lansing, Nassar admitted to sexually assaulting seven victims, including Denhollander during a medical appointment when she was 15 years old. 

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.

Contact Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204 or tim.evans@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @starwatchtim.