Prosecutor In Nassar Case Thanks Journalists For Uncovering Abuse

Marina Fang
Updated

Before a Michigan judge on Wednesday sentenced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar to up to 175 years in prison for sexually assaulting more than 140 young women, state Assistant Attorney General Angela Povilaitis honored the role of investigative reporting in the case.

“It shouldn’t take investigative journalists to expose predators,” Povilaitis, whose office prosecuted the case, said in her closing argument. “But thank god we have these journalists, and that they exposed this truth and that they continue to cover this story. Thank god Rachael Denhollander made that first contact with the reporter and decided to allow them to publish her name.”

“We, as a society, need investigative journalists more than ever,” she said later. “What finally started this reckoning and ended this decades-long cycle of abuse was investigative reporting.”

Without The Indianapolis Star’s initial 2016 investigation into USA Gymnastics, she continued, “he would still be practicing medicine, treating athletes and abusing kids,” pointing at Nassar.

After reading the Star’s investigation, former gymnast Rachael Denhollander contacted the reporters and came forward with her account, the first public accusation of Nassar’s abuse, in a story published in September 2016.

She was the last woman to read a victim impact statement in Nassar’s sentencing hearing on Wednesday.

Reporters, particularly female reporters, have been instrumental in lifting the lid on serial sexual predation involving prominent men and exposing the institutions and systems that enabled their abusive behavior to go on.

In October, New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey broke open years of sexual misconduct involving Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, which catalyzed what has now become known as the #MeToo movement.

Read more on Nassar’s sentencing here.

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Related...

140 Women Have Accused Larry Nassar Of Abuse. His Victims Think We Don't Care.

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The Voices Of Larry Nassar's Victims Made It All The Way To The Women’s March

Also on HuffPost

Mattie Larson

"You took complete advantage of my innocence. Your kindness was simply a ploy to molest me every chance you got. I can’t even put into words how much I fucking hate you.”
"You took complete advantage of my innocence. Your kindness was simply a ploy to molest me every chance you got. I can’t even put into words how much I fucking hate you.”

Olivia Cowan

"MSU knew what was being done to these athletes and decided to turn a blind eye to keep their reputation strong and their pockets full."
"MSU knew what was being done to these athletes and decided to turn a blind eye to keep their reputation strong and their pockets full."

Hannah Morrow

“Life handed me lemons, and you best believe, I am well prepared to make some lemonade. You cannot break me.”
“Life handed me lemons, and you best believe, I am well prepared to make some lemonade. You cannot break me.”

Kyle Stephens

“Little girls don’t stay little forever. They turn into strong women that return to destroy your world." 
“Little girls don’t stay little forever. They turn into strong women that return to destroy your world." 

Helena Weick

"What kind of person has the audacity to sexually assault a child in front of their mother? The kind of person who should spend the rest of his life in prison." 
"What kind of person has the audacity to sexually assault a child in front of their mother? The kind of person who should spend the rest of his life in prison." 

Maddie and Kara Johnson

“I felt so lucky that I got to see the same doctor as all of my idols in the gymnastics world." -- Maddie Johnson 
“I felt so lucky that I got to see the same doctor as all of my idols in the gymnastics world." -- Maddie Johnson 

Emily Morales

"Although you have hurt me, I want to forgive you and feel closure and move on to healing in my life." 
"Although you have hurt me, I want to forgive you and feel closure and move on to healing in my life." 

Megan Ginter

“I am done being ashamed of something that was out of my control.”
“I am done being ashamed of something that was out of my control.”

Donna Markham for Chelsea Markham

"In 2009 she took her own life because she couldn’t deal with the pain anymore. It will be 10 years in March that I lost my baby. She was 23 years old… Every day I miss her. Every day. And it all started with him."
"In 2009 she took her own life because she couldn’t deal with the pain anymore. It will be 10 years in March that I lost my baby. She was 23 years old… Every day I miss her. Every day. And it all started with him."

Annette Hill

"Larry, you are a menace to society."
"Larry, you are a menace to society."

Aly Raisman

“Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time, are now a force, and you are nothing. The tables have turned, Larry. We are here and we are not going anywhere.”
“Larry, you do realize now that we, this group of women you so heartlessly abused over such a long period of time, are now a force, and you are nothing. The tables have turned, Larry. We are here and we are not going anywhere.”

Chelsea Zerfas

"It hurt me most when I found out you hurt my teammates. I considered them my family."
"It hurt me most when I found out you hurt my teammates. I considered them my family."

Katie Rasmussen

"They didn't understand how such a respectable doctor could do something like that. I don't understand how a 14-year-old could make that up."
"They didn't understand how such a respectable doctor could do something like that. I don't understand how a 14-year-old could make that up."

Amanda Cormier

"This is between you and God." 
"This is between you and God." 

Amanda Thomashow

"I knew that he abused me. I reported it. Michigan State University had the audacity to tell me I did not understand the difference between sexual assault and a medical procedure.”
"I knew that he abused me. I reported it. Michigan State University had the audacity to tell me I did not understand the difference between sexual assault and a medical procedure.”

Jordyn Wieber

"I thought that training for the Olympics would be hardest thing I would ever have to do. But the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is process that I am a victim of Larry Nassar." 
"I thought that training for the Olympics would be hardest thing I would ever have to do. But the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is process that I am a victim of Larry Nassar." 

Jennifer Rood-Bedford

"I want to stand with all the women who came before me and all the women who came after me. If only to say: You’re not alone."
"I want to stand with all the women who came before me and all the women who came after me. If only to say: You’re not alone."

Gwen Anderson

"I’ve come to realize this moment is not my weakest moment. This is my moment of strength. This is my time to close the chapter of being a victim and open the chapter of being a survivor.”
"I’ve come to realize this moment is not my weakest moment. This is my moment of strength. This is my time to close the chapter of being a victim and open the chapter of being a survivor.”

Kayla Spycher

"You took away my worth, my privacy, my innocence ... and my own voice, until today."
"You took away my worth, my privacy, my innocence ... and my own voice, until today."

Chelsea Williams

"Problematic cultural aspects of elite gymnastics -- obedience, unimaginable pain and silent suffering -- were expertly manipulated by Larry Nassar to identify, abuse and control his victims; not once, but systematically over their lifetimes in the sport."
"Problematic cultural aspects of elite gymnastics -- obedience, unimaginable pain and silent suffering -- were expertly manipulated by Larry Nassar to identify, abuse and control his victims; not once, but systematically over their lifetimes in the sport."

Jennifer Hayes

"I have invisible wounds that have forever changed my life. I am changing that today. You stole my confidence and self-worth, but I am regaining it. You will not break my core and you no longer have power over me"
"I have invisible wounds that have forever changed my life. I am changing that today. You stole my confidence and self-worth, but I am regaining it. You will not break my core and you no longer have power over me"

Carrie Hogan

"I am broken. I am tired. I feel like the life has literally been sucked out of me. I am in desperate need of healing."
"I am broken. I am tired. I feel like the life has literally been sucked out of me. I am in desperate need of healing."

Jessica Smith

"The trauma that the abuse has caused me, my family, and my community can<br />never be undone. Yet what allows me to get out of bed each day is the hope of<br />creating a better and safer environment around me."&nbsp;
"The trauma that the abuse has caused me, my family, and my community can
never be undone. Yet what allows me to get out of bed each day is the hope of
creating a better and safer environment around me." 

Lindsey Lemke

"You abused us and you don&rsquo;t even remember. That&rsquo;s sickening.&rdquo;
"You abused us and you don’t even remember. That’s sickening.”

Jeanette Antolin

"Those little girls that you took advantage of so easily have now come back to haunt you, all the days of your life."
"Those little girls that you took advantage of so easily have now come back to haunt you, all the days of your life."

Lyndsy Carr

&ldquo;I was a carefree, silly little girl until this happened, and afterwards there was a cloud, and the cloud has followed me into every relationship in my life, especially the most important ones.&rdquo;
“I was a carefree, silly little girl until this happened, and afterwards there was a cloud, and the cloud has followed me into every relationship in my life, especially the most important ones.”

Clasina Syrovy

"When girls came forward and told an adult, the adults didn't listen. Why didn't they listen? What good is it to teach children to tell an adult if the grown-up doesn't listen, doesn't take action?"
"When girls came forward and told an adult, the adults didn't listen. Why didn't they listen? What good is it to teach children to tell an adult if the grown-up doesn't listen, doesn't take action?"

Krista Wakeman

"I feel my own sense of guilt because I was 16 years old, and I should have stopped this monster from hurting other girls, because I knew that what he did to me was wrong."
"I feel my own sense of guilt because I was 16 years old, and I should have stopped this monster from hurting other girls, because I knew that what he did to me was wrong."

Melody Posthuma

"I really believe there are thousands who were affected and will continue to be affected by this."
"I really believe there are thousands who were affected and will continue to be affected by this."

Rachael Denhollander

"When I came out, my sexual assault was wielded as a weapon against me."
"When I came out, my sexual assault was wielded as a weapon against me."

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.