MI doctor gets 60-year prison sentence for child porn

Olympic gymnastics gold medallist McKayla Maroney says the former U.S. team doctor facing child porn and sexual assault charges "deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison".

Nassar's attorneys had asked the federal judge for leniency in court filings, arguing Nassar had helped fellow inmates and taken Bible classes since his arrest almost a year ago, the State Journal said.

Nassar initially pleaded not guilty to possessing the child pornography.

Maroney's mother, Erin Maroney, says in a letter to the court that abuse changed her daughter.

Nassar was the team physician for the Michigan State University gymnastics and women's crew teams, as well as an associate professor at MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine.

McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas - three members of the United States of America gymnastics team that won gold at the 2012 London Olympics - are among those who've come forward with allegations of sexual abuse by Nassar.

Her mother also wrote to the MI judge. "Dr. Nassar told me that I was receiving 'medically necessary treatment that he had been performing on patients for over 30 years, '" she wrote.

"It started when I was 13 years old, at one of my first national team training camps, in Texas, and it didn't end until I left the sport. She said to me, 'Mom I thought I was going to die'".

"She has transformed from a bubbly, positive, loving, world-class athlete into a young adult who was deeply depressed, at times suicidal". She was only 15 years old. "At times, I was unsure whether I would open her bedroom door and find her dead".

A sports doctor who worked for U.S. gymnastics and Michigan State University has been sentenced to 60 years in jail after he was found to have knowingly amassed 37,000 images of child pornography. "Because the National Team training camps did not allow parents to be present, my mom and dad were unable to observe what Nassar was doing, and this has imposed a bad and undeserved burden of guilt on my loving family".

Nassar is a "monster" who "left scars on my psyche that may never go away", Maroney said in a letter to Neff.

McKayla's Maroney's testimony mentions the incident as well, saying that Nassar "had given me a sleeping pill for the flight, and the next thing I know, I was all alone with him in his hotel room getting treatment".

Michigan State fired Nassar last September.

More than 100 civil claims are pending against Michigan State and USA Gymnastics. Federal prosecutors said he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison since federal time will run consecutively to state sentences.

In all likelihood, Larry Nassar will spend the rest of his life behind bars.