Michigan Senator Says She, Too, Would Like 5 Minutes With Nassar

LANSING, MI – Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow says she sympathizes with a father who lunged at convicted sex abuser Larry Nassar. The Democrat told reporters she wished court room security officers who restrained the father of three victims had reacted slower and allowed him to get in a couple of punches.

And, Stabenow says, she herself would not mind taking a few jabs at the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University sports medicine doctor.

"As a mom and as a grandmother who now has a young granddaughter in sports, I thought, you know, I would have liked five minutes with this guy," said Stabenow during a news conference on Wednesday.

At a sentencing hearing last Friday, Feb. 2, an enraged Randy Margraves, whose three daughters said they were abused by Nassar, dove at the ex-doctor as he sat in the witness chair. Margraves asked Eaton Judge Janice Cunningham for five minutes alone with him.

Margraves later apologized for his actions. Cunningham said she would not charge him for the outburst.

More than 260 girls and young women said that Nassar sexually abused them during routine examinations. Some said that he violated them while their parents were in the exam room.

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Nassar is now housed in the low-security federal prison in Milan, Michigan. According to federal prison records, his release date is March 23, 2069. And that's just the start of his prison time. He also faces sentences of up to 175 years.

After dozens of women provided victim impact statements, Cunningham sentenced Nassar to 40 to 125 years in prison. She told Nassar it was unlikely that he could be reformed.

That sentence follows another prison term of 40 to 175 years handed down in January by Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. "I just signed your death warrant," said Aquilina at the sentencing.

In addition to the Michigan state prison terms, Nassar also was convicted on federal pornography charges, and sentenced in December to 60 years.

Since Nassar's conviction, Michigan State and USA Gymnastics have come under a torrent of criticism for not reacting quicker to complaints made by girls and young women about the abuse. Many of Nassar's victims say they complained to coaches, trainers and university officials, but their claims fell on deaf ears.

Michigan State President Lou Anna Simon resigned and athletic director Mark Hollis retired in the wake of the controversy. The university has appointed former Michigan Gov. John Engler as interim president.

In Washington, D.C., the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced Thursday it would investigate the Nassar scandal. It sent letters to the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, Michigan State, the Twistars gymnastics club in Michigan and the Korolyi Ranch.

The probe is the third inquiry opened in Congress, joining the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a subcommittee of the Senate's commerce committee. Those two panels want information by Friday.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

File photo by Susan Walsh/Associated Press