Dr. Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University sports doctor, pleaded guilty to the child pornography charges against him. He could face as many as 60 years behind bars but his sentence won't be determined until November.
The doctor is also accused of abusing his patients from 1994 to 2016. He was arrested back in December. Per MLive, Nassar admitted that he obtained thousands of images and videos related to child pornography for 13 years. He also admitted that he paid someone to delete all these items from his computer in an attempt to evade prison time.
The charges he pleaded guilty to are child pornography, possession of child pornography, and destruction and concealment of records. Judge Janet Neff will give the sentence on November 27 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Plea deal in exchange for guilty plea
The 53-year-old doctor Pleaded Guilty to the above-mentioned charges in exchange for a plea deal. The federal officials will have to stop their investigation regarding the issue that took place in his swimming pool back in 2015. Accordingly, two minor children are involved in the swimming pool probe. Sexual abuse allegations involving two girls also surfaced, which was linked to his travels from 2006 to 2012, NPR reported.
The travels took place when Nassar was still the team doctor and chief medical director for USA Gymnastics.
The gymnasts he worked with were involved in the sexual abuse allegations.
Other criminal charges won’t be affected by plea deal
Even if Nassar will no longer be investigated regarding the swimming pool issue as well as the sexual abuse allegations stemming from his travels, he still faces 33 charges of criminal sexual conduct from individuals who claimed they were abused in Ingham and Eaton.
The sexual assaults reportedly took place at the sports medicine clinic of Michigan State University, the gymnastics club called Twistars, and in his home in Holt.
119 former patients came forward and filed lawsuits against Nassar. These girls were teenagers or at the college level when they encountered Nassar. They had scheduled appointments with the doctor for injuries like back and hip damages.
These girls claim that Nassar’s treatments on them involved vaginal or anal penetration. Those who have filed lawsuits against him noted they did not consent to any of his actions.
There are no dates set yet regarding when Nassar will attend a hearing regarding the criminal charges against him.
