Former US gymnastics doctor pleads guilty to sex charges

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A former sports doctor accused of molesting at least 125 girls and young women while he worked for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University pleaded guilty Wednesday to multiple charges of sexual assault and will face at least 25 years in prison.

Larry Nassar, 54, admitted to digitally penetrating seven girls, mostly under the guise of treatment at his Lansing-area home and a campus clinic, between 1998 and 2015.

Olympic gymnasts Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas, are among the women who have publicly said they were among Nassar's victims.

Some of his accusers attended the hearing Wednesday in a packed Ingham County courtroom. The painful memories left them crying.

Nassar faces at least 25 years in jail for molesting seven girls in his care. /Reuters Photo

"For all those involved that I'm so horribly sorry that this was like a match that turned into a forest fire out of control," Nassar said. "I pray the rosary every day for forgiveness. I want them to heal. I want the community to heal."

Nassar admitted to digitally penetrating the victims and agreed that his conduct had no legitimate medical purpose and that he did not have the girls' consent.

The plea deal in Ingham County calls for a minimum prison sentence of 25 years, but a judge could set the minimum sentence as high as 40 years. In Michigan, inmates are eligible for parole after serving a minimum sentence.

Aly Raisman is one of three members of the 2012 "Fierce Five" team to say they were molested by Larry Nassar. / VCG photo

The girls have testified that Nassar molested them with his hands, sometimes when a parent was present in the room, while they sought help for gymnastics injuries.

After the hearing, one of the accusers, Larissa Boyce, said it was "really hard" to look at Nassar in the courtroom.

"This was a man we trusted. He's admitting what he did was wrong and evil," she said.

Separately, Nassar is charged with similar crimes in Eaton County, the location of an elite gymnastics club. He also is awaiting sentencing in federal court on child pornography charges.

Nassar was not the only case caught up in the waves of shocking sex scandals in the sports industry.

Back in early November 2011, Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions, was charged and convicted for 52 counts for sexual abuse of children.

Convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach at Penn State University, leaves after his appeal hearing at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania October 29, 2015. /Reuters Photo

In France, former tennis coach Regis de Camaret was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison in 2012 for raping several players who attended his Saint-Tropez academy in the 1980s and 1990s. Former World No. 3 ranked player Nathalie Tauziat testified on his behalf at the trial.

Also in November 2016, Former Bury and Sheffield United player Andy Woodward, told the Guardian he was sexually abused by the convicted pedophile and former football coach Barry Bennell while at Crewe Alexandra between the ages of 11 and 15.

Barry Bennell, 62, a former coach who worked with hundreds of young players, primarily in the Midlands and the North West, had three convictions for multiple sex offenses against children dating back to the 1980s.