Day three of the Larry Nassar sentencing kicked off on a strange note Thursday, with the disgraced doctor submitting a letter to the court.
Nassar wrote in the letter that Judge Rosemarie Aquilina was conducting a ‘four-day media circus’ for her own gain, and claimed that ‘listening to impact statements is detrimental to his mental health.’
Fifty women have delivered victim impact statements at this point, with another 51 still to come.
‘She wants me to sit in the witness box next to her for all four days so the media cameras will be directed toward her,’ Nassar wrote in his six-page, single-spaced complaint.
Judge Aquilina, who has spent the past two days individually addressing each victim after they deliver their statements in court, did the same for Nassar in the wake of his comments.
She began with a bit of a caveat however, explaining: ‘I am not a therapist. But if I was, I would not be yours.’
Judge Aquilina did show some empathy as well for the convicted child molester, responding to Nassar’s claim that he twice passed out before his federal sentencing back in December by saying: ‘I’m sorry about that, sir. I wish you well.’
Dumb: Larry Nassar (above on Thursday with his lawyer) said in a letter submitted to Judge Rosemarie Aquilina on Thursday that ‘listening to impact statements is detrimental to his mental health’
Poor choice: ‘She wants me to sit in the witness box next to her for all four days so the media cameras will be directed toward her,’ Nassar said of Judge Aquilina (above on Thursday)
Where to begin: Judge Aquilina then spent ten minutes responding to the six-page, single-spaced complaint
‘This isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, there’s no truth in there, it’s delusional,’ said Judge Aquilina, who pointed out that Nassar signed off on this when he accepted a plea deal.
‘I didn’t orchestrate this, you did,’ she reminded Nassar.
Judge Aquilina also referred to his words as ‘mumbo jumbo’ during her ten-minute response to Nassar’s mental health concerns, before pointing out that he got off easier than the women in that courtroom.
‘You may find it harsh that you are here listening. But nothing is as harsh than what your victims endured for thousands of hours at your hands,’ said Judge Aquilina.
‘Spending four or five days listening to them is significantly minor considering the hours of pleasure you’ve had at their expense and ruining their lives.’
She then noted: ‘None of this should come as a surprise to you.’
Nassar then got even more bad news when Judge Aquilina reminded him that 125 women were offered the chance to speak and said she would extend the hearing for as long as it took for each of those victims to deliver their impact statements.
Judge Aquilina also found some time for humor while addressing Nassar’s complaint as well, with the serial predator sitting silently in the witness stand as she spoke.
‘Now this is entertaining to me,’ she said at one point, before reading from Nassar’s letter.
‘Aquilina said if I pass out she’ll have the EMTs revive me and prop me up in the witness box.’
The judge took a beat and paused before looking at Nassar and saying: ‘I suspect you have watched too much television. It’s delusional. You need to talk about these issues with a therapist and that’s not me.’
She then move don to his next grievance, reading: ‘Aquilina is allowing them all to talk. She wants me to sit in the witness box next to her for all four days so the media cameras will be directed at her.’
Judge Aquilina looked at Nassar in disbelief, before responding: ‘I don’t have a dog in this fight, sir. I didn’t want even one victim to lose their voice.’
It was also revealed while Judge Aquilina was going through the letter that court adjourned early on Wednesday so Nassar could receive treatment from mental health professionals.