Victim 165
date of testimony: January 22th 2018
location of testimony: Lansing, Michigan
date of first abuse: 2013
statement read by court official Ms Liddell
This is victim 165 who also wishes to remain anonymous.
Good afternoon. I have asked someone to speak on my behalf as the mother of victim 165. My daughter is probably the most recent victim of Mr. Nassar. Let me start at the beginning of our story with Mr. Nassar.
My daughter starting seeing Mr. Nassar at the age of 10 as a gymnast at a local gymnastics club. As you know, gymnastics is a brutal sport that is very hard on the bodies as they are pushed beyond the limit; for my daughter, especially, who was injury-ridden most of the last four years.
Mr. Nassar was the one that we all believed could help her in the sport she loved. What none of us realized is that, as I’m sure we have said numerous times that he was personally responsible for keeping her in the sport she loved, but what we didn’t realize at that time is that it would come at a horrible cost. Her innocence, her childhood, her spirit, and her confidence in everything she has believed in has been broken. Broken by her doctor, the man she admired and the man she trusted. The four plus years ridden with so many injuries caused by many visits to Mr. Nassar, in those years a friendship with Mr. Nassar formed. My husband and I donated to his Flip For Autism Foundation, his run for Holt School Board, and adopting his kids at Christmas and organizing dinners for the Nassar family when the charges first came out.
In 2013 this friend, this monster took our beautiful, sweet, and confident daughter’s innocence when he began to molest her when she saw him for several hamstring injuries, then pulled ligaments in her lower back. I question myself daily, how could this have happened right in front of us? How could anyone not blame themselves for failing to protect their daughter? I do. I failed her. I failed because my daughter was never told she couldn’t trust her doctor. She believed this man she trusted and all that he did for her.
I cannot even tell you how many times I drilled into her head what was appropriate behavior and what wasn’t. What is proper and improper. But, you see, we never teach our children to not trust their doctors, their teachers, their pastors, or first responders. She trusted him even though he never explained what he was going to do. He never once asked for permission from her or us. He never had us sign a consent form. He never had a nurse in the room, and he never put on gloves.
Had Mr. Nassar explained he was going to insert his ungloved fingers into my daughter’s vagina, I know I would have said no. We were not given the opportunity to review. This serial child molester did it anyways. This monster destroyed my daughter’s trust.
She cried on the floor of her shower for months before she couldn’t take it any more and told us. She could not believe that he molested her. She held this in for so long because she knew if she told us, what we would think of her were bad — I’m sorry, she held this in for so long because she knew if she told us that we would think we were bad parents.
Well, you can imagine. I blame myself. It has destroyed me and has taken away all trust. I cry uncontrollably throughout the day often. I panic when she is taken in for any medical procedure. The dentist cannot even be trusted. My entire trust in everyone has been destroyed by this monster. This abuse has broken her. She is no longer this outgoing, competent little girl. She is quiet, reserved, judgmental, and scared. She questions every task or decision she makes. She is not the child she was four years ago. Unfortunately, she will never be.
Mr. Nassar, you sit there and hold your head down while these victims and their families tell their story. You cannot even look anyone in the eye, yet you say you are praying for healing? How is it possible for anyone to heal after what you did to them? You can’t even apologize for your actions.
Mr. Nassar, you aren’t only just a monster, you are the demon and the spawn of Satan. You are no Catholic or God-fearing man. I hope that you never see the light of day. I hope that you sit in your cell and replay everything that was said these last four days over and over. I hope you realize that you have destroyed little girls, women, and families for your own sick gratification.
Your Honor, I ask that you take into consideration all of the victims’ statements before you this week and all the silent ones for the victims that have yet to gain the strength and a voice to speak up. There are thousands, and I am sure of it.
Please give this monster the maximum sentence of 125 years and ensure that he will never be able to walk out of prison alive.
Thank you for your time.
THE COURT: I want to thank the mother of victim 165. She has a strong voice on behalf of her daughter and they stand together, the sister survivors. She didn’t do anything wrong and she and the other parents really need to realize, and I’ve said this before, I’ll keep saying it, we all teach our children — responsible parents teach children about good touches and bad touches. We now have to add to that because of this case. We need to add, question everything even if you think you have a good doctor, a good lawyer, a good police officer, question, question, question. It’s a really sad thing that we have to do, but this serial child molester has made it that way, so it’s a good lesson for all of us.
She’s doing the responsible thing by speaking out on behalf of her child, and I’m hoping her child at some point can listen to all of these and find some comfort with her sister survivor warriors. The army gets bigger and stronger. Thank her.
