A courtroom on edge as Larry Nassar and his attorneys take the podium before sentencing in Ingham County Circuit Court.
Nassar pled guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in November 2017.
“Unequivocally I will be standing next to this man for every trial that he would ahold, every sentencing that he will have,” Nassar’s attorney Matt Newburg said. “That is what our constitution requires.”
Some have taken that defense personally.
“As we sat in the court this morning we received an email from someone who is anonymous that wished death upon our kids,” Newberg said. “For standing next to the man and upholding a constitution, a document, and an oath that we took when we went to law school.”
Nassar's attorneys say he’s changed over the course of this case.
“Larry's soul is broken, he is the shell of a person that we all first met,” said Newberg in court. “He is reserved and soft-spoken, his tears are more frequent and his conversations more somber.”
It wasn't long after that Nassar would take to the podium: words many around the world have been waiting to hear.
“Your words these past several days have had a significant emotional effect on myself and has shaken me to my core,” Nassar said as he turned to survivors in the gallery. “I also recognize that what I am feeling fails to compare to the pain, trauma, and emotional destruction that all of you are feeling.”
But it wasn't until Nassar made his way out of the courtroom that many survivors of Larry Nasser realized then was the time to move on.
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced Nassar to 40 – 175 years behind bars.
Nassar will have 21 days to appeal, an appeal he mentioned in court will not happen.
Nassar will be back in court January 31 after pleading guilty to three counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct-First Degree.
Some survivors are under the age of 13.