The woman who brought down Larry Nassar and built an ‘army of survivors’ was the last to speak in the pedophile doctor’s seven-day sentencing hearing on Wednesday.
Rachael Denhollander was 15 when she was sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar, and she began her remarks by stating: ‘The sentence rendered today will send a message across this country. And so i ask, how much is a little girl worth? How much is a young women worth?’
Then mother-of-two then outlined the many reasons why Nassar deserved the maximum sentence, and why Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee needed to be put under investigation.
She also shared a few shocking stories that spoke to the depraved behavior of Nassar’s defense team, MSU staff and the man she succeeded in sending to prison.
‘I held my first born, and then my two daughters, and each time Larry I remembered the day you brought Caroline in so I could hold her,’ recalled Denhollander at one point, recounting a vicit from her abuser and his newborn child.
‘You knew how much I loved children and you used your own daughter to manipulate me.’
Denhollander, who has sat in the courtroom every day, approached the podium on Wednesday after a brief introduction from Michigan Assistant Attorney General Angela Povilaitis’
‘I knew after meeting her we would be here at some point,’ she told the court of the woman whose 2016 report put multiple cases against Nassar in motion.
‘I knew there was no doubt that she would carry this case and the world would believe her.’
She was composed and calm throughout her statement, keeping a even tone and never once bursting into tears or raising her voice.
‘Larry meticulously groomed me for the purpose of exploiting me for his sexual pleasure,’ Denhollander informed the court.
It was then revealed to the court how this happens, with the victim explaining that because no adult questioned Nassar’s practices or motives, she assumed his penetration of her was normal medical practice.
‘As Larry abused me, I assured myself it was just fine because I thought I could trust the adults around me,’ said Denhollander.
‘And so I lay still.’
She now knows however that it was not a medical treatment but sexual assault, and she called out the number of times places like MSU ignored reports and complaints and allegations about Nassar’s practices.
The other person who sat in the courtroom for the past seven days, Denhollander’s husband Jacob, also had some words to share on Wednesday.
He posted on Twitter after his wife spoke, writing: ‘I’ve always known how amazing Rachael Denhollander is. Now you do, too.’