Presley Allison
date of testimony: January 22th 2018
location of testimony: Lansing, Michigan
age of abuse: 14
When I was first asked if I wanted to write a statement for the sentencing of Larry Nassar, my initial reaction was, no. I did not want to give another minute of my time to anything that had to do with him. I did not feel worthy of telling my story to the public. There were girls with stories of years of abuse, and although I may not be one of those girls, I was abused by Larry Nassar.
Whether it was one time or 100 times, once is one time too many, and everyone deserves a voice. It was not until Tuesday seeing all the strong women who were able to stand before him that I realized this is not about him, this is about me.
It was not until today when I was sitting in one of my college classes when a professor brought up the gymnastics doctor that harmed those young girls that I realized that I cannot run from this. I have to face it.
What Larry Nassar did to me will forever be part of my past. I will not only confront this now but many more times in the future. I was abused while my own mother was in the room. Imagine as a parent what it is like to be told that not only was your child sexually abused, you were right there and had no idea.
I was a 14 year old girl. It was not something that I was going to bring up in the car on my way home, especially since I had already heard of this treatment before through my teammates.
I will forever have a wall built up around me because of this. I have been affected by this monster in more ways than I am allowing myself to think. I want others to know that when this is over and out of the news for you, it will continue on for all of us survivors. This will never be something that goes away. For that, I ask for a maximum sentence for Larry Nassar
THE COURT: Thank you. Presley, I want you to know that your time has been well spent. You are worthy of being heard, and you have been heard, and you are valuable and strong and a sister survivor, and I’m happy that you stopped running. Thank you for your words.
