Former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar — accused of sexually assaulting more than 100 young girls, including members of the gold-medal-winning US Olympic team — was on Thursday sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography.
The 54-year-old doctor, who is facing sentencing next month on separate sexual assault charges, pleaded guilty in July to three counts of possessing child pornography.
Nassar, who worked at Michigan State University in addition to USA Gymnastics, was found to be in possession of more than 37,000 graphic videos and images of child pornography on his computer hard drives.
He was given the maximum 20 years in prison on each count by US District Judge Janet Neff at a federal court hearing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Nassar has been accused of molesting more than 100 female athletes during the three decades he worked with USA Gymnastics and at Michigan State.
He has pleaded guilty to 10 counts of sexual assault in two other cases in Michigan, admitting that he abused young athletes under the guise of offering medical treatment.
He could face life in prison when he is sentenced on those charges next month.
His case was part of a wide-ranging scandal that forced the resignation of USA Gymnastics chief Steve Penny in March.
Penny was accused by victims of failing to quickly notify authorities about abuse allegations.
Olympic gold medalists McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas are among the members of the USA Gymnastics team who have said they were sexually assaulted by Nassar.
Maroney, in a victim impact statement submitted to Neff, called Nassar a “monster” and urged her to hand down the maximum sentence.
“Dr Nassar was not a doctor, he in fact is, was and forever shall be, a child molester, and a monster of a human being,” she wrote.
Maroney won team gold and an individual vault silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics as a member of a US women’s gymnastics team.
She said Nassar began abusing her when she was just 13 and the molestation continued throughout her gymnastics career.
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