By Megan Fulton
Viking Longboat online
Haslett HS
1st Place
Division 4, News Writing
Online Follow-Up News Story
It took an unimaginable amount of strength for sophomore Emma Ann Miller to speak out about years of sexual abuse by doctor Larry Nassar. The abuse began when she was just 10 years old in the summer of 2013.
After three years of seeing Nassar, her appointments were suddenly discontinued. The next time she saw him she was facing him in Ingham County Circuit Court making her survivor’s impact statement.
“There are no words to describe it, just a lot of emotions,” she said.
Nassar, a former sports medicine doctor and caregiver was given access to many unsuspecting young women, using his medical and professional situation to take advantage of his patients. A countless number of Nassar’s victims had been receiving treatment from him since they were children.
He began building confidence with his clients at a young age and when he felt they were old enough and trusted him, he took advantage of them.
“I’ve seen him all my life. Before I was even born, my mom saw him as a doctor and I went with her to appointments with him,” Miller said.
Nassar was relieved from MSU of any further clinical or patient duties soon after the first federal complaint was filed against him, on Aug. 30, 2016, patients were informed there would no longer be any appointments held with him.
“I stopped treatments with him sometime in August, the day after MSU called my mom to inform us that all future appointments with him would be canceled,” Miller said. “We had no clue why, we just thought it was weird.”
The first hearing of Nassar’s sexual assault case was held Nov. 30, more than a year after treatments with the doctor were discontinued. It continued to trial Dec. 4 and was carried out by Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina.
“The first time I saw him since I had stopped treatments was in the courtroom,” Miller said.
Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison just on the counts of sexual abuse. He will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole. The sentence was carried out and signed by Aquilina.
“She was a very good judge for the case,” Miller said. “Although I respect her decision, her minimum sentence should have been way higher than 40 years. I said 60 in my testimony, but even that is cutting it close. I think he should have a year for every girl he ever assaulted. If that was the case, I’m sure he’d be there for a thousand years.”
It can be difficult for survivors to find their voice over an abuser, especially when that person is typically someone she or he is very close with or trusts.
“I wasn’t going to speak out at first because I know the stigma behind sexual abuse. People around you might treat you differently, look at you differently,” Miller said. “But I can’t let him have that power.”
Many survivors don’t realize until years later that their experience of sexual assault was committed by someone they knew very well and were close with. It’s even more devastating and shocking when the crime is committed by a doctor, a person everyone should feel they can trust.
“It was hard to find out that someone I was 99 percent positive would never hurt me did hurt me,” Miller said. “I didn’t realize until everything came out that what he was doing was wrong. I don’t think many of the girls did except for the ones that came forward.I know many of them thought it was ‘treatment,’ just like I did.”
According to the Children’s Advocacy Center, being a survivor of sexual assault may not seem difficult for some. However, those who go through it are affected for the rest of their lives. The aftermath of abuse is typically the hardest part for those who have survived it. It can cause survivors to become depressed, introverted, have difficulty trusting people or being in large groups, unable to feel comfortable around the opposite sex and behaving extremely passive or aggressive
“It’s really hard to figure out who I can trust. I have to remind myself that although there are a lot of bad people in the world, there are just as many good people,” Miller said. “You can’t give him the power to take away trust for the rest of your life.”
Sexual abuse can be extremely difficult to work through, but it can be made easier with help. The sister survivors of Nassar have created a network to reach out to one another and talk about how they’re feeling. Miller said it makes it much easier to know that someone out there is going through the exact same thing as her.
“We are all different people, but we all share the same tragic situation,” she said. “It helps to know that we aren’t alone. I think that helps for any survivors of sexual abuse, just knowing that you’re not alone and having support with someone who has gone through the same thing as you can make a huge difference. I would encourage people to speak out about it because it’s not something to be ashamed of.”