“You had no right”: Victims face disgraced sports doc

FAN Editor

LANSING, Mich. — A judge is holding an extraordinary four-day sentencing hearing for a disgraced Michigan sports doctor who sexually assaulted young elite gymnasts. Larry Nassar returned to court Tuesday in Lansing.

Dozens of women and girls who were victims are being allowed to speak. Some of their accounts may be graphic.

Jessica Thomashow

Jessica Thomashow, 17, said she was sexually assaulted by Nassar when she was 9 and 12 years old while receiving treatments for a rib misplacement and stress fracture injury to her ankle. 

“I was alone in the back room with him. He had me lie down on the table. And he sexually assaulted me,” Thomashow said. “He touched the most innocent places on my body that day. When it was over, I was so confused. It was awful and embarrassing. I left and kept the disgusting thing that had just happened to me to myself.”

“My dream of becoming a sports medicine doctor ended that day,” she continued. “I no longer felt safe and I had problems with trust.” 

Thomashow said she has “paralyzing” flashbacks to Nassar’s actions. 

“You took advantage of my innocence and trust,” she said. “What you did to me was so twisted. You manipulated me and my entire family. You had no right to do that. You have caused so much pain in my life.”

Chelsea Markham

The adoptive mother of Chelsea Markham addressed Nassar on her daughter’s behalf during the hearing. While training as a gymnast, Chelsea fell off of a balance beam at the age of 10 and injured her back. 

According to her mother, she received treatment from Nassar for several years. During one of her treatments, Nassar allegedly “put his fingers” inside Chelsea, but his hands “weren’t gloved.”

Chelsea burst into tears on the car ride home and told her mother that Nassar had “hurt” her. 

“This was a man that was supposed to be the best in his field,” her mother said. “But he abused her. For my daughter, it just became a serious bout of depression.”

When she was 13 years old, Chelsea quit gymnastics in wake of the abuse. And in 2009, she took her own life because she couldn’t handle the pain, according to her mother. 

Jade Capua

Jade Capua, 17, told the judge Nassar stole her innocence when she was 13 years old while receiving treatment at the Michigan State facility in Lansing. 

“I couldn’t fathom the idea of what had just occurred,” Capua told the judge, noting that Nassar stole her “innocence, privacy, safety and trust” during the office visit. 

“There are some days that this horrifying experience fills my brain and I can’t think about anything else,” she continued. “It left a mental scar that unfortunately will always be something that happened. However, I’m a strong believer that wounds heal into scars, and these scars become stories that you share and heal from. Justice must be served.” 

Capua concluded her statement by telling Nassar he is “not a healer” and that she is “no longer broken” by him. 

Alexis Moore

Alexis Moore says she sustained 10 years of abuse and neglect by Nassar during home and office visits. 

“For years, Mr. Nassar convinced me that he was the only person who could help me recover from multiple serious injuries. To me, he was like a knight and shining armor,” Moore said. “But alas, that shine blinded me from the abuse. He betrayed my trust, took advantage of my youth and sexually abused me hundreds of times.”

When Moore was just 9 years old, she underwent treatment for a broken pelvis. At the time, Moore said she felt she had no reason not to trust Nassar because he previously treated her cousins and was friends with her mother and aunts. 

During the hearing, she told Nassar he “abused his power.”

“I cannot look back anymore,” Moore concluded. “I am determined to becoming more involved in making this world a better place.”

Larry Nassar sentencing 

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina is expected to order a sentence Friday. 

Nassar pleaded guilty to molesting females with his hands at his Michigan State University office, his home and a Lansing-area gymnastics club. He also worked for USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.

The Michigan attorney general’s office is seeking at least 40 years in prison for the 54-year-old Nassar. He’s already been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for child pornography crimes.

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles on Monday said she was among the athletes sexually abused by Nassar.

Free America Network Articles

Leave a Reply

Next Post

Trump’s Phony ‘Fake News’ Claims

President Donald Trump often dismisses news stories or media outlets that he doesn’t like as “fake news.” How often? A database of his public remarks contains 320 references last year to “fake news.” Usually, it’s a general complaint about news coverage — such as his Christmas Eve tweet: “The Fake News […]