People face can explain many things. It can reveal a lot about their emotions, thoughts, and even character. Facial expressions, subtle movements, and micro-expressions all contribute to non-verbal communication, often conveying what words cannot.
But if one can lie about what their face evoke, Larry Nassar should be one of the most convincing liars. Nassar, being a trusted team doctor of the U.S. women's national gymnastics team, managed to deceive others effectively, with his exceptionally skill in hiding his intentions and emotions.
Later considered a serial child rapist after using his position to exploit and sexually assault hundreds of young athletes as part of the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports history, Nassar managed to maintain a professionalism, care, and trustworthiness, fooling not only his victims but also their families and colleagues.
He was able to suppress any guilt, fear, or malicious intent in his facial expressions and behavior, allowing him to deceive those around him.
Born in 1963, Larry Nassar was a renowned physician.
After graduating as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and later became an assistant professor at MSU's Department of Family and Community Medicine in the College of Human Medicine, he is also a co-author on at least six research papers on the treatment of gymnastics injuries.
He first served as the national medical coordinator for USA Gymnastics in 1996 until 2014.
Nassar, a master manipulator, was roaming free, doing whatever wanted for years, due to a number of conditions that put him in an advantage, until the brave ones stepped forward, and later sparked an investigation to how harrowing this case is.
In pre-trial hearings, sentencing, and later interviews, several victims described Nassar's modus operandi.
They said that Nassar would first try to get the girls' trust, and with that he would be able to make conversations more fluid, and able to enter their personal boundaries after forging friendship.
Nassar's abuse include, and not limited to, inserting his ungloved finger (or fingers) into his victims' vagina (and sometimes their anus) during physical therapy, describing this as normal "pressure point" therapy for pain relief. Nassar also often groped his victims' breasts.
On some of these occasions a parent was in the room, unaware of what happened.
Long story short, Nassar groomed many of his victims by building trust and using his reputation as a respected physician to convince them that the abuse was medically necessary.
He used medical jargon and false explanations to make his victims believe that the abuse was part of their treatment.
Nassar coerced many of his victims into silence by making them believe that questioning his methods could lead to negative consequences for their careers.
He manipulated athletes and their families by making them feel special, often offering them gifts or extra attention to mask his predatory behavior.
Nassar had the opportunity to take advantage of the gymnasts, since he was a trusted physician, who could be alone with his victims, inside a room where he is in command.
Nassar was a respected physician within the gymnastics community and had worked with elite athletes.
His status allowed him to manipulate those around him, fostering an environment where his actions were often viewed through the lens of trust rather than suspicion.
His caring persona, and how he created a paternal image to portray to his victims, often reassuring parents and athletes that his treatment methods were legitimate, which further shielded him from scrutiny.
He also made use of the fact that most of his victims were young, most of whom were younger than 18 years old, which means that many of them are afraid to speak up about the abuse.
There was a broader societal stigma surrounding sexual abuse, especially in sports, which discouraged victims from reporting incidents due to fear of not being believed or supported.
But not only Nassar has the ability to lie, but his abuse was undetected for so long, because the USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University failed to act on the complaints adequately.
The organizations prioritized their reputations over the safety of athletes, often dismissing allegations as misunderstandings or unsubstantiated.
The culture in gymnastics and sports often downplayed issues of abuse and misconduct, leading to an environment where complaints could be ignored or overlooked.
Social media played a pivotal role in exposing Larry Nassar, a once-respected doctor, as a child rapist.
Brave survivors, including former gymnasts, came forward to share their harrowing experiences of abuse. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram became spaces where these women could speak out, empowering others to do the same. The #MeToo hashtag, which had already mobilized social media to hold powerful figures accountable for sexual abuse, further spread the news.
This cultural moment made social platforms fertile ground for calling attention to the systemic failures that allowed Nassar to abuse young athletes for decades, leading to a global reckoning in the world of gymnastics.
Not to mention, the #NassarAbuse hashtag that gained traction as more victims felt supported to reveal their stories publicly.
Then, high-profile Olympic athletes like Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, and McKayla Maroney, thanks to their large social media followings, helped brought massive attention to the case by sharing their personal experiences of abuse.
Their testimonies resonated with millions and helped spread the word to a broader audience.
Also, the emotional impact statements from over 150 survivors, shared during Nassar’s sentencing hearing, were broadcast and widely circulated across social media. Clips of these heartbreaking stories went viral, with users expressing their support and outrage.
Judge Rosemarie Aquilina’s powerful words to Nassar also fueled social media discussions, as people around the world demanded justice for the victims.
In other words, through survivors’ voices, the involvement of well-known athletes, viral courtroom moments, and the relentless spread of information via social media, Larry Nassar’s crimes were exposed, turning the world’s eyes to a horrifying truth and fueling a movement toward justice and accountability.
Through survivors' testimonies, widespread outrage, and viral content, it helped amplify the voices of hundreds of young athletes who suffered under the guise of medical care.
In the end, Larry Nassar was identified as having abused over 300 victims during his time as a doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University.
Many of these victims were young athletes, including several high-profile Olympic gymnasts, who came forward to share their experiences of sexual abuse under the guise of medical treatment. The number of identified victims continues to grow as more survivors speak out and share their stories.
If what he did was not disturbing enough, Nassar also possessed child pornographic materials.
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During a raid in 2016, authorities discovered more than 37,000 images and videos of child pornography on Nassar’s electronic devices. Some images were categorized as "violent" and showed young girls being abused.
Making things worse, Nassar was caught trying to destroy the evidence, as he tried to get rid of the material before the investigation.
He was found to have been involved in the distribution of child pornography, which is part of his broader exploitation of minors.
On February 5, 2018, judge Janice Cunningham of Eaton County sentenced Nassar to a minimum of 40 to a maximum of 175 years in prison for the three counts of criminal sexual assault to which he had pleaded guilty to on November 29, 2017.
He was also told to $138.7 million as settlement.
Because of doing what he did, Nassar spent time in the Eaton County jail and the federal detention center at Federal Correctional Institution, before he was transferred to United States Penitentiary, Tucson (USP) in Arizona.
But he was not held there for long, because Nassar was assaulted almost as soon as he was placed in it.
After it was realized that he couldn't be safely held at Tucson, Nassar was transferred to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, then to the United States Penitentiary, Coleman in Florida. But still, he was not safe there.
Nassar was stabbed multiple times, in multiple occasions, and at one point, the prison guards performed life-saving measures on him after he suffered organ damage and a collapsed lung.
Because of this, he had to be transferred to a medium-security prison, where he can better serve his time.
