MASON, Mich. -- Former Michigan State and USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar returned to court Friday as several accusers continued their testimony about his alleged sexual abuse of them while they were young gymnasts.
Four girls, the oldest of whom recently turned 18, testified during the preliminary hearing that Nassar used his fingers to penetrate them when they visited him as minors to seek treatment for injuries they sustained during training.
Nassar, 53, has been charged with 25 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two other counts of child pornography possession. More than 100 women have made complaints to Michigan State University police about the man once considered to be the country's top doctor for gymnasts. Friday's hearing, which will be continued in June, pertained to 15 of those counts and was held to see if there was enough evidence for the judge to send the case to trial.
Nassar has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the alleged assaults were part of a legitimate medical procedure. His attorneys, Shannon Smith and Matthew Newburg, focused their questions in cross examinations Friday on whether or not those treatments were effective in relieving pain for the girls and if the girls had done any research into why he didn't wear gloves while seeing them.
Nassar's habit of not wearing gloves while administering these manipulations was a key point of discussion during the hearing. More than one of his accusers said the fact Nassar used his bare hand to penetrate them was an important factor in feeling that they had been assaulted.
The treatment in question is called myofascial release, an osteopathic method of relieving pain through massage and in some cases penetration. Nassar's contention has been that not wearing gloves helped him to better treat patients by giving him a better feel for how their bodies were responding. Before he was accused of assault, he produced several videos explaining the procedure in which he was not wearing gloves. The prosecution argues that gloves should be a part of any legitimate medical treatment to that area of the body.
"That's one of the facts," Smith asked one alleged victim, "that really sticks out in your mind and makes you feel like this is wrong?"
The alleged victim said that was correct. Smith declined to comment on her line of questioning after the hearing, saying that she couldn't speak to reporters due to an ongoing gag order related to the case.
Multiple girls who testified Friday and others who testified on a previous date said that Nassar did not explain the procedure before he performed it and did not ask for consent from the patients or the patients' parents before penetrating them.
One of the alleged victims said Friday that her father accompanied her on one office visit and Nassar suggested the father might be more comfortable waiting in a lobby during the 30- to 45-minute massage treatment. When the father left, she said, Nassar started massaging her vaginal area and putting his fingers inside her. She said she went to the office seeking treatment for a heel injury.
Nassar's attorneys also questioned several of the testifiers about whether or not they were involved in any civil lawsuits against the former doctor. More than 90 women are suing Nassar, Michigan State University and others as part of several civil lawsuits connected to his alleged abuses. The attorneys told the judge they were attempting to establish "a civil motive" (i.e. financial gain) for why the young women were making claims against Nassar in the criminal court.
All four of the girls who testified Friday first spoke to police shortly after they or their parents read the public accusations against Nassar in an Indianapolis Star article in September 2016. When asked why they didn't come forward sooner, the girls said they didn't realize the treatment was sexual abuse until they saw those stories, or were afraid they wouldn't be believed.
Two of the girls also added that Nassar presented them with gifts after he abused them. One said the former doctor gave her a leotard. Another said she saw him less than a week after he returned from working with the gold-medal-winning U.S. team in 2012 and he gave her a pin from the Olympic Games in London.
"[The gift] made me feel special," she said.
At least one more accuser is expected to testify before the judge decides whether or not to send the case to trial. That testimony and decision are scheduled for June 23. A separate preliminary hearing for seven other counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct is scheduled to begin in nearby Eaton County on June 30. Three other first-degree charges have already been bound over to trial in circuit court.