Judges deny Larry Nassar's appeal, uphold sentence on federal child porn convictions

Matt Mencarini | Lansing State Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption 60 photos of brave women who helped lock up Larry Nassar Here are photos from the sentencing hearings where women confronted former MSU and Olympic doctor Larry Nassar.

Larry Nassar's appeal of his 60-year federal sentence on child pornography charges has been denied.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling Wednesday, affirming U.S. District Judge Janet Neff's decision to sentence Nassar to three 20-year prison terms to be served one after another.

Nassar, a former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor, received three lengthy prison sentences over an eight-week stretch starting in December, first in Neff's federal courtroom and then in two separate Michigan county courtrooms. He had pleaded guilty to federal child pornography and state sexual assault charges.

He appealed all three sentences, with the appeals of the state sentences still pending.

Nassar's federal court-appointed appellate attorney filed an appeal in April, arguing that Neff erred when she used his 10 sexual assault convictions in state court, for which he had not been sentenced at the time, in calculating the sentence guideline range. Nassar's attorney also argued that it was "procedurally unreasonable" for the federal judge to order Nassar's state sentences to be served after the federal sentence.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, in response, argued that Neff acted within her discretion.

"In deciding to impose consecutive sentences, the district court relied on the duration, enormity, and gravity of Nassar’s criminal conduct; the serious harm that Nassar inflicted on his victims; and the serious safety threat that Nassar presents to the public," the appeals judges wrote in their opinion.

"... The district court agreed with the government’s observation that at least some of Nassar’s activities occurred outside of the State of Michigan, and thus at least implicitly recognized that Nassar’s state sentences for first-degree criminal sexual conduct would not account for all of his criminal behavior."

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Nassar, 55, formerly of Holt, pleaded guilty in July 2017 in federal court to three charges: obtaining and possessing child pornography and destroying computer files to hamper the investigation.

Nassar had at least 37,000 videos and images of child pornography, which the MSU Police Department found in September 2016 while executing a search of his Holt home.

Before he was fired from MSU, he had his work laptop wiped clean. That action was the basis for the federal charge related to destroying files.

Four months after pleading guilty to the federal charges, Nassar pleaded guilty to 10 sexual assault charges split between Ingham and Eaton counties.

In January, his two sentencing hearings on those 10 charges began, first in Ingham County then in Eaton County.

The Ingham sentencing lasted seven days and included victim-impact statements from 156 women and girls who spoke about how Nassar sexually assaulted them. The hearing drew international attention and pushed Nassar, his crimes and his victims into a spotlight not seen during the 16 months prior.

The hearing ended with Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina telling Nassar she was signing his "death warrant" and sentencing him to 40 to 175 years in prison.

His three day sentencing hearing in Eaton County started the following week and after dozens more victim-impact statements, Judge Janice Cunningham sentenced Nassar to 40 to 125 years in prison.

Nassar has filed motions in state courts seeking new sentences. A hearing on the issue is set for Monday in Ingham County and in September in Eaton County.

Nassar sexually abused hundreds of women and girls over more than 20 years, many of them at his MSU office. In May, MSU agreed to settle lawsuits filed by hundreds of those victims for $500 million.

Nassar is currently housed at a federal transfer center in Oklahoma City, according to online records. He had been at a federal prison in Arizona, but his attorneys said in a recent court filing that he had been attacked shortly after being released into the general population.

More:

Judge Aquilina 'uniquely situated' to keep Larry Nassar case, chief judge rules

Larry Nassar files for new sentencing on Eaton County sexual assault charges

Aquilina refuses to recuse. Aquilina refuses to recuse.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.