Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman slams paedo team doctor Larry Nassar as she confronts her ‘pathetic’ abuser in dramatic courtroom showdown
The six-time Olympic medallist told her abuser 'the tables have turned, Larry, it's your turn to listen to me'
AN OLYMPIC gymnast stared down a paedo team doctor who abused her as a young athlete in an empowering courtroom statement.
Six-time Olympic medallist Aly Raisman, 23, branded sex fiend Larry Nassar “pathetic” as she delivered a remarkable victim impact statement in Michigan, US.
Nassar, 54, tricked Raisman into believing his inappropriate touching would ‘heal her pain’ and repeatedly used his position of power to abuser her.
The disgraced doctor faces life in prison after admitting 10 counts molesting young girls. The court heard more than 140 women and girls have said Lassar abused them.
Raisman said: “I am here to face you, Larry, so you can see I’ve regained my strength. That I am no longer a victim. I am a survivor.
“I didn’t think I would be here today. I was scared and nervous. It wasn’t until I listened to the other brave survivors that I realised I needed to be here.
“You never healed me. You took advantage of our passions and our dreams.
“Imagine feeling like you have no power, and no voice. Well you know what Larry, I have my power and my voice, and I will use them.
“The tables have turned, Larry. We are here. We have our voices, and we are not going anywhere. And now, Larry, it’s your turn to listen to me.
“You are pathetic to think that anyone would have any sympathy for you. You think this is hard for you? Imagine how all of us feel.
“Imagine how it feels to be an innocent teenager in a foreign country hearing a knock on the door and it’s you. I don’t want you to be there but I don’t have a choice.”
Raisman is one of four members of the ‘Fierce Five’ 2012 Olympics squad to accuse Lassar.
Jordyn Weiber, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney have also come forward to speak of their abuse at the hands of the doctor.
Olympic champion Weiber also delivered a statement to the sex offender.
She said: “I thought that training for the Olympics would be the hardest thing that I would ever have to do.
“But, in fact, the hardest thing I ever had to do is process that I am a victim of Larry Nassar.”
Nassar’s sentencing looks set to continue into next week as victims continue to come forward.
He already faces 60 years behind bars after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.