A father whose daughters were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar has spoken out after lunging at the serial child molester in court.
‘I ended up delivering unknowingly all three of my daughters to a demon that had his own personal twisted, sick agenda. I’ll never forgive that guy,’ Randall Margraves told CBS News after the incident in a Michigan court on Friday.
The father, who was tackled and handcuffed by court officers before he could reach Nassar, apologized to the judge, who dropped all charges against him.
‘I am no hero, my daughters are the heroes, and all the other victims,’ he said in the interview.
‘I did not think about wanting to kill him, but I did want to inflict some pain,’ said Margraves.
Randall Margraves spoke out in an interview (above) after the Friday incident in Michigan
Madison Rae Margraves (second from right) and her sister Lauren (second from left) stand with their parents after giving their victim statements during the sentencing hearing for Nassar on Friday
‘I feel very remorseful…this cannot be a lawless society, I know that. I lost control but I regained control later in a holding cell,’ Margraves said (Pictured, Margraves lunges at Nassar)
He had asked Judge Janice Cunningham just moments prior if he could have five minutes alone in a room with Nassar, after refusing a chance to give a statement (Nassar ducks for cover)
Supporters of the father have raised more than $20,000 on a GoFundMe account (Pictured, Margraves is tackled after he lunged at Nassar)
The incident unfolded during the sentencing hearing in a case centering on Nassar’s assaults at Twistars, a Lansing-area gymnastics club that was run by 2012 Olympic coach John Geddert.
Nassar has already been sentenced to 175 years and 60 years in prison in two prior cases on charges of sexual assault of minors and child pornography.
On Friday, two of his daughters gave statements in Eaton County Court in the third case.
Both Madison and Lauren spoke about how their family was struggling to cope in the wake of their assaults, standing with their dad and mom Sharri, a competitive power-lifter.
Lauren, who was 13 when Nassar molested her, said it had been particularly difficult for their parents: ‘I see the look on their faces and I know they want to do something and they can’t.’
Madison described the past few months as ‘hell,’ with tears running down her face.
Their sister Morgan Margraves had previously delivered a victim impact statement in Ingham County Court for Nassar’s previous sentencing, which was read by a member of the attorney general’s office.
Two of his daughters sat and watched as he described the horrors he had put them through
‘I want that son of a b****,’ he added before being cuffed by Detective Andrea Munford, the MSU police officer who led the investigation into Nassar’s crimes (Munford above in red)
Cops escort Margraves out of the courtroom after he went for Nassar during his victim impact statement
Margraves could be seen getting increasingly angry during their readings on Friday, and while parents of previous victims had been seen burying their faces or looking to the sky, Margraves kept his gaze fixed on Nassar.
He then asked if he could give a brief statement.
‘I would ask you, as part of the sentencing to grant me five minutes in a locked room with this demon. Would you give me one minute?’ said Margraves after his daughters had finished speaking and were preparing to return to their seats.
When that request was denied, Margraves lunged at Nassar and raised a fist before being brought to the ground and handcuffed by deputies.
It was, fittingly, Nassar’s defense attorney who shielded him from the angry father, who appeared to be almost twice the size of former USA Gymnastics team doctor.
‘Give me one minute with that b******,’ said Margraves as he was pinned to the ground. ‘I want that son of a b****.’
He was detained for the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon in handcuffs, before giving an apology in court.
The judge said she would not press charges for his outburst, which came one day after Nassar’s lawyer Shannon Smith said that she does not believe all of Nassar’s victims were sexually assaulted.
Margraves was kept in handcuffs for the rest of the morning and removed from the room
Randall Margraves appears with his attorney and apologizes to the court for his outburst
Eaton County Judge Janice Cunningham addresses the court during the sentencing hearing of Nassar on Friday
‘Obviously what just occurred in the courtroom was scary and caused a level of discomfort for all of you, and I’m sorry that happened,’ said Judge Janice Cunningham.
‘My heart started beating fast and my legs felt shaky after that quick eruption of violence.’
She then did her best to not villainize Margraves while still making it clear his actions were unacceptable.
‘I recognize that Mr. Margraves has three daughters that he had to watch go through this pain and hurt,’ she went on to say.
‘If it is hard and difficult for me to hear what his daughters had to say, I can’t imagine what it is like for him.’
And she ended her remarks with a call for law and order.
He decried those on social media saying he was a hero and said: ‘I am no hero. My daughters are the heroes and all the other victims’ (Pictured, Margraves addresses the media with his daughters standing behind him, from left, Lauren, Madison and Morgan)
‘What Mr. Nassar did was horrible. It’s unthinkable. But please let the criminal justice system do what it’s supposed to do,’ said Judge Cunningham.
A GoFundMe page set up for Margrave’s legal defense raised $31,000 in a few hours before his charges were dropped, and the campaign was shut down.
Sixty-five women are scheduled to speak over the course of three days in Eaton County Court, where Nassar is being sentenced in the Twistars case.
The sentencing hearing in the case is scheduled to resume on Monday.
In the case, Nassar in November pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual conduct, two of them against girls between the ages of 13 and 15, and one against a girl younger than 13, according to a plea agreement.
He faces a minimum of 25 to 40 years on each of the counts, according to the agreement.