Washington (AFP) – Former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Thursday for child pornography, the Lansing State Journal reported.
Nassar, 54, who is also facing sentencing for sexually assaulting members of the women’s Olympics gymnastics team, pleaded guilty in July to three counts of possessing child pornography.
He was given 20 years in prison on each count by a judge at a court hearing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the newspaper said.
“He has demonstrated that he should never again have access to children,” US District Judge Janet Neff was quoted by the Journal as saying.
“You have to wonder whether he felt he was omnipotent, whether he felt he was getting away with something so cleverly,” Neff added.
Nassar has also pleaded guilty to 10 counts of sexual assault in two other cases in Michigan, admitting that he abused young athletes under the guise of offering medical treatment.
Olympic gold medalists McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas have said they were among the members of the USA Gymnastics team assaulted by Nassar when he served as team doctor.
He could face life in prison when he is sentenced on those charges next month.