Father of molested girls charges disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor in court

[rooster59]

Father of molested girls charges disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor in court

By Steve Friess

 

Randall Margraves (L) lunges at Larry Nassar,(wearing orange) a former team USA Gymnastics doctor who pleaded guilty in November 2017 to sexual assault charges, during victim statements of his sentencing in the Eaton County Circuit Court in Charlotte, Michigan, U.S., February 2, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

 

CHARLOTTE, Mich. (Reuters) - The enraged father of three daughters who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar charged towards the former USA Gymnastics national team doctor and tried to attack him during a sentencing hearing in a Michigan courtroom on Friday.

 

The father, Randall Margraves, was nearly within striking distance of Nassar before officers tackled him roughly to the ground in front of his shocked daughters. The judge later accepted Margraves' account that he "lost control" of his emotions and said she would not punish him.

 

The chaotic scene began after sisters Lauren and Madison Margraves had finished tearful victim statements on the second day of a sentencing hearing in Eaton County, much as nearly 200 women, including Margraves' third daughter, did in earlier court sessions.

 

Standing alongside his daughters and wife, Margraves, a tall man with an intense gaze dressed in an electricians' union sweatshirt, then asked to speak.

 

"I would ask you as part of the sentencing to grant me five minutes in a locked room with this demon," he said to the judge, gesturing towards Nassar, who has already been sentenced to up to 175 years in prison at an earlier hearing after pleading guilty to molesting young women under the guise of medical treatment.

 

Judge Janice Cunningham told him he knew she could not do that, and chastised him after he called Nassar a son of a bitch. He asked for one minute alone instead. The judge demurred as some in the courtroom laughed uncomfortably.

 

Margraves then bolted towards Nassar, seated in an orange jump suit behind a nearby table. His daughters' hands flew to their mouths, and one of Nassar's lawyers moved to shield his client.

 

Gasps, cries and shouts filled the courtroom as Margraves was wrestled to the ground, knocking things off a desk on the way down, and handcuffed while Nassar was taken out to safety.

 

"One minute!" Margraves demanded repeatedly, his head pinned to the floor. As officers pulled him from the room, he implored them, "What if this happened to you guys?"

 

Margraves was then bundled out of the courtroom by uniformed officers, and the judge ordered a break in the proceedings.

 

PAIN AND GUILT

 

The attempted attack underscored the pain Nassar's abuse has caused his victims' parents, some of whom had been present in the exam room while Nassar abused their children. Several have spoken in court about the guilt they feel for delivering their children to a sexual predator.

 

"I failed my own daughter," Lynn Erickson said tearfully in court on Friday, as her daughter Ashley, one of Nassar's victims, wiped away tears.

 

Margraves' daughters had also described the impact on their parents. At Nassar's first sentencing hearing last month, his oldest daughter Morgan said her father "went out driving to look for him around East Lansing" after news of his abuse broke.

 

"I'm not exactly sure what he would have done if he saw him," she said. "However, he felt he still had to protect us in the way fathers do for their daughters."

 

During the lunch break, a handcuffed Margraves was brought back in from a courthouse cell for the judge to decide whether to hold him in contempt.

 

Accompanied by a lawyer, Margraves said he did not know exactly what his daughters were going to say.

 

"I got to hear that, and I got to see Larry Nassar over here shaking his head 'no,' like it didn't happen," he said. "I lost control."

 

The judge accepted his explanation, though she made him promise he would not do anything like that again.

 

"There is no way that this court is going to issue any type of punishment, given the circumstances of this case," Cunningham said. "My heart does go out to you and your family for what has happened to you."

 

The county sheriff said his office would decide by next week whether to seek charges. An online fundraising page at the website GoFundMe had collected more than $9,000 for Margraves' potential legal fees by 3 p.m. (2000 GMT)

 

Social media users expressed near universal support for Margraves.

 

"We all understand this father's action," said actor and wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. "Nassar's punishment will go far beyond sentencing. Behind bars, he'll soon know what hell means."

 

Mariah McClain, who testified about Nassar's abuse of her, said she had to leave the courtroom when Margraves erupted.

"It was just too much for me," she said.

 

The case against Nassar, who is also serving a 60-year federal term for child pornography convictions, has sparked investigations into how U.S. Olympic officials, USA Gymnastics, the sport's governing body, and Michigan State University, where Nassar also worked, failed to investigate complaints about him going back years.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-02-03

[cornishcarlos]

Silly move but..... You'd have to do it. Shame he didn't connect harder !!

[Dexlowe]

My respects to the judge. Let's just hope the county sheriff's office also sees sense and doesn't charge Margraves, who at least will have some sense of satisfaction in knowing what will happen to the filthy scumbag over the remaining years of his foul life behind bars.  

[ezzra]

Understandable primal instincts at play here, a father express his anger at a person that defiles his kids, I too, probably would have felt the same...

 

[car720]

In my opinion, once guilt has been proven, it should be the father's right to have 5 minutes alone with the piece of excrement.

[bandito]

Read John Grisham's novel, " A Time To Kill ".

[Jools]

Can't blame the guy. Does the judge ever ask herself what SHE would do in similar circumstances?

[chrisinth]

3 hours ago, Jools said:

Can't blame the guy. Does the judge ever ask herself what SHE would do in similar circumstances?

I think the judge was wearing her heart on her sleeve when she said there was no way the court would hand out punishment for the incident.

But as for granting him 10 minutes alone with him? That was never going to happen regardless of her personal feelings IMO.

 

[IAMHERE]

Where was the father when his daughter was 13 ?  Why in heck didn't the daughter feel safe enough to talk to dad, or mom, or sister , or aunt, or ..... ?  The daddy was part of the problem if not part of the assault, he gave his okay years before thisl is my opinion.

[Jeremy50]

1 hour ago, IAMHERE said:

Where was the father when his daughter was 13 ?  Why in heck didn't the daughter feel safe enough to talk to dad, or mom, or sister , or aunt, or ..... ?  The daddy was part of the problem if not part of the assault, he gave his okay years before thisl is my opinion.

Wow. Do you actually know anything about this case? Nassar assaulted his victims under the pretence of a medical procedure. Many of his victims thought what he was doing was part of a routine of massage, stretching muscles, finding pressure points etc. The abuser had honed his technique to abuse surreptitiously for many years. This is why he got away with it for so long, and why many of the athletes were confused as to wether they had been abused or not, and were afraid to speak out against one of the most respected sports doctors in the business.

[dunroaming]

10 hours ago, car720 said:

In my opinion, once guilt has been proven, it should be the father's right to have 5 minutes alone with the piece of excrement.

I think there is little doubt that he will receive "justice" once incarcerated.  Hopefully over and over again.  Can't be many fathers out there who wouldn't have done the same thing, I know I would have.

[Different]

 I don't understand why would county sheriff's office  seek charges for? 

[Jingthing]

20 minutes ago, Different said:

 I don't understand why would county sheriff's office  seek charges for? 

Really? You don't understand? Ever heard of rule of law? Lynching is not legal in the United States. Yes, the convicted may face violence and murder in prison, but a civilized society doesn't cheer for that or think that is a good thing. Doing that, society is not much better than the criminals themselves. 

 

Regardless of the emotions, I suppose it matters whether attempted violent assault is illegal in that area. If he had managed to do what he was aiming for, then there is no doubt ethically and legally that he should be charged.

Edited February 3, 2018 by Jingthing

[Credo]

As understandable as this man's anger is, his behavior warrants at least a stint in jail.   The Court room is not the place to express anything other than verbal outrage.  He is no tough guy when he is trying to attack someone who is handcuffed.   

 

Let him spend a day or two in jail, go before another judge, take anger management classes and whatever else he needs to deal with his inability to protect his children.   

Seeing his reaction, it's no wonder his daughters were hesitant to talk to him.   

[isaanbanhou]

43 minutes ago, Credo said:

As understandable as this man's anger is, his behavior warrants at least a stint in jail.   The Court room is not the place to express anything other than verbal outrage.  He is no tough guy when he is trying to attack someone who is handcuffed.   

 

Let him spend a day or two in jail, go before another judge, take anger management classes and whatever else he needs to deal with his inability to protect his children.   

Seeing his reaction, it's no wonder his daughters were hesitant to talk to him.   

 

Three of his daughters were sexually assaulted by this piece of **it.  I am glad you are in complete control of your emotions at all times.  That is if you have any

[nausea]

A bit late mate, and totally symbolic and ineffective, maybe if you'd had some communication with your daughters earlier it wouldn't have come to this.