Former U.S. gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar gets up to 175 years in jail

Former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on Wednesday after a week of raw emotional testimony by scores of women he sexually abused for years under the guise of medical treatment.

"I've just signed your death warrant," Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said as she handed down what amounts to a life sentence to the 54-year-old Nassar in a tense Lansing, Michigan, courtroom.

"You do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again," the judge said as Nassar, dressed in a blue prison jumpsuit, stood expressionless before her flanked by two defense attorneys.

"You're a danger, you remain a danger," Judge



Aquilina said. "Anywhere you walk destruction will occur to those most vulnerable."

Minutes ahead of the sentencing, Nassar apologized in court to his victims, who included Olympic gold-medal winning gymnasts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney but also scores of female athletes at Michigan State University, where he worked.

"What I am feeling pales in comparison to the pain, trauma, and emotional destruction that all of you are feeling," Nassar said, turning at several points to face his victims in court.

"There are no words to describe the depth and breadth of how sorry I am for what has occurred," he said.