Nassar pleads guilty to federal child porn charges

GRAND RAPIDS - Larry Nassar, the once-famed MSU and USA Gymnastics doctor, admitted in federal court this morning to having thousands of images and videos of child pornography. 

Nassar pleaded guilty in front of federal Magistrate Judge Ray Kent who said in December, if testimony from an FBI agent was true, Nassar posed "the worst kind of risk to our community: A risk to our children."

That testimony centered on the fact that law enforcement found at least 37,000 videos and images of child pornography on hard drives located on Nassar's Holt property, including videos the agent said appeared to show Nassar sexually assaulting young girls in a pool.

The three guilty pleas — on charges of obtaining and possessing child pornography and destroying computer files to hamper the investigation — are the first for Nassar, who still faces three sexual assault cases in Ingham and Eaton counties. 

"Dr. Nassar's position on the state cases has not changed and we intend to proceed to trial. The plea today was negotiated only to resolve the federal charges," Nassar's attorneys Matt Newburg and Shannon Smith said in a statement after the hearing.

In a release handed out to reporters, Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge said, "With Dr. Nassar's admissions of guilt on federal charges today, victims and the public can be assured that a day of reckoning is indeed in Dr. Nassar's future. No one, no matter his station in life, is above the law."

Nassar, as he has during the recent hearings in the state cases, wore an orange jail jumpsuit. Two U.S. Marshals led him into court with his hands cuffed behind his back. He sat between Newburg and Smith, occasionally writing notes.

Nassar answered questions from Kent throughout the hearing, including one after Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Lewis finished reading a summary of the evidence against Nassar. When Lewis was done, Kent asked Nassar if everything Lewis said was true, including that he knowingly downloaded thousands of child pornography files. 

"Yes, your honor," Nassar said, adding moments later, in response to another question, "I plead guilty as stated."

The sentencing guideline range stipulated to in the plea is 22 to 27 years in prison. However, Judge Janet Neff is free to sentence Nassar, 53, above or below that range and order that the sentences be served consecutively. That means he could be sentenced to up to 60 years in prison or as few as five years.

The plea deal with the U.S. Attorney's Office included an agreement that federal prosecutors would not charge him for alleged sexual exploitation or attempted sexual exploitation of children, including an incident in 2015 in his swimming pool. That agreement is limited to four reported victims.

Smith said during the hearing that Nassar doesn't admit to the alleged misconduct related to those four reported victims, that in fact he and the attorneys dispute it, but stipulate that as part of the plea agreement Neff could consider that allegations as being true for the purpose of sentencing Nassar.

Lewis told Kent on Tuesday that all four of those reported victims, and the parents for two who are minors, were in favor of the plea agreement. It was offered to Nassar after prosecutors got that approval, Lewis said. 

Nassar worked at MSU for nearly 20 years and before he was fired in September had his work laptop wiped clean. That action was the basis for the federal charge related to destroying files. 

In a release from Michigan State University, Police Chief Jim Dunlap said he was "very pleased with the outstanding investigative efforts of the MSU Police Department’s Special Victims Unit and the Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime Unit, who recovered and analyzed the evidence in these cases."

He also thanked the work of the federal prosecutors. 

MSU Spokesman Jason Cody said the plea agreement showed Nassar's "behavior was deeply disturbing and repugnant."

"It was through the hard and diligent work of the MSU Police Department that led to Nassar’s arrest and conviction on the federal charges. We are grateful for all of the law enforcement efforts put forth by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan and the FBI. This cooperation was vital to this investigation."

Related:Larry Nassar and a career filled with ‘silenced’ voices

Related:At MSU: Assault, harassment and secrecy

Related:For Nassar accusers, testifying 'takes a lot of courage'

Since September, in the wake of an Indianapolis Star article, more than 100 women and girls have come forward and said Nassar sexually assaulted them, nearly all saying it happened during medical appointments. Many said it happened in Nassar's Michigan State University office. 

He worked at MSU and with USA Gymnastics for decades. The university fired him in September and left USA Gymnastics in fall 2015 with little notice. Both organizations have been named in lawsuits, which allege they didn't do enough to protect women and girls from Nassar.

Since Nassar waived his right to plead guilty to a federal district court judge and instead pleaded in front of Kent, Neff will have to accept Nassar's plea at a later date. Kent said his recommendation will be that she does. Kent added in court that it's likely Nassar could be sentenced in November, but did not set a date.

Here’s a timeline of Nassar’s decades-long career and the allegations against him. This will continue to be updated.

Here's a map of key people and connections in the Nassar cases. This will continue to be updated.

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