LANSING, Mich. -- Emma Ann Miller, the youngest person to speak during sentencing for admitted sexual predator Larry Nassar, said that the clinic where she was abused is still trying to bill her family for the appointment.
Miller, 15, inhaled deeply and hugged her mother, steadying herself to keep from crying before she described how she was assaulted in a supply closet by Nassar during a medical appointment in August 2016.
"I'm possibly the last child you will ever assault," she said to Nassar, who watched her statement from the courtroom's witness stand and wore a blue prison jumpsuit.
"Are you listening, MSU? I'm 15 years old and I'm not afraid of you, nor will I ever be. At 15, I shouldn't know the inside of a courtroom, but I'm going to become real comfortable in one. So should you. ... I didn't choose this circumstance. Nassar made that choice for us -- your 20-year child-molesting employee. This is a burden at 15 I shouldn't have to bear. But believe me MSU, bear I will." Emma Ann Miller
She and her mother, Leslie, both said the Michigan State sports clinic is attempting to bill their family for that appointment.
Miller also took aim at Michigan State, where she says she saw Nassar for medical appointments on a monthly basis for five years. She said she plans to continue to battle the university in court "while Nassar's story fades into a federal prison cell."
"Are you listening, MSU? I'm 15 years old and I'm not afraid of you, nor will I ever be," Miller said. "At 15, I shouldn't know the inside of a courtroom, but I'm going to become real comfortable in one. So should you. ...I didn't choose this circumstance. Nassar made that choice for us -- your 20-year child-molesting employee. This is a burden at 15 I shouldn't have to bear. But believe me MSU, bear I will."
A Michigan State spokesman said later Monday that "patients of former MSU physician Larry Nassar with outstanding bills will not be billed."
Michigan State fired Nassar a few weeks after Miller's appointment as new allegations about his abuse began to spread. He has pleaded guilty 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and has already been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for child pornography charges. In addition to criminal charges, Nassar is also a defendant in lawsuits filed by more than 150 women who say he sexually abused them. Most of the women say the abuse happened during medical appointments they scheduled with the formerly world-renowned gymnastics physician.
Those lawsuits also name Michigan State, USA Gymnastics, coaches and high-ranking officials at both institutions as co-defendants, claiming that several authority figures heard complaints about Nassar's abuse and did nothing to stop him. Police investigated Nassar twice -- in 2004 and 2014 -- before he was arrested as part of a 2016 investigation. The first two investigations, and a 2014 Title IX investigation that relied on the opinion of Nassar's colleagues, cleared him of wrongdoing.
As part of the plea deal accepted by Nassar, any woman who has accused Nassar of assault has been given the chance to confront him and tell her story in the Ingham County Courthouse. The hearing began last week with 98 women scheduled to speak. That list has since grown to 144 women and could continue to grow before Nassar is officially sentenced later this week. Emma Ann Miller asked to be publicly identified, and her mother gave consent for her to do so in court.
Many of the women who have made statements have used their time in front of the court to address the people they believe enabled Nassar to continue abusing girls and young women for nearly a quarter century. On top of the multiple police investigations, more than a dozen women have said they told coaches, athletic trainers and psychologists among others about Nassar's abuse -- some as early as 1997 -- but their complaints weren't taken seriously.
Monday's first speaker, Bailey Lorencen, focused her ire on John Geddert, the head coach of 2012 gold-medal Olympic team and a prominent coach in the USA Gymnastics system. Geddert owns Twistars, a gym in central Michigan where many women say they were abused by Nassar in a back room during the last two decades.
Geddert was close friends with Nassar, standing in his wedding party, and several women have said that the two men protected each other at different times when their careers came under fire. Geddert wrote a letter on Nassar's behalf when he was on the verge of being thrown out of Michigan State's medical school in the early 1990s. Nassar talked a former gymnast's grandmother into dropping physical assault charges against Geddert after an altercation at his gym. He told the grandmother that if she proceeded with the charges against Geddert it could put his gym in jeopardy.
Many of the gymnasts who previously worked with Geddert painted him as a tyrannical and demanding coach -- the "bad cop" to Nassar's "good cop." Lorencen said Geddert made her continue practicing after breaking her back, forcing her to do sprints while she limped in pain. She said that Nassar portrayed himself as an advocate for the gymnasts who were afraid of Geddert.
"His abuse was your fuel," she said. "You used his abuse to mask your own pathetic pleasure."
Geddert was placed on suspension by USA Gymnastics on Friday, a source familiar with the discipline told ESPN. The source asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the suspension. Geddert was at a weekend gymnastics meet in Orlando with gymnasts from Twistars, but had to remain in the crowd, due to his suspension, multiple sources told ESPN.
In addition, three USAG board members have resigned. Chairman Paul Parilla, vice chairman Jay Binder and treasurer Bitsy Kelley are out effective Jan. 21.
"We support their decisions to resign at this time. We believe this step will allow us to more effectively move forward in implementing change within our organization," USAG president and CEO Kerry Perry said in a release. "As the board identifies its next chair and fills the vacant board positions, we remain focused on working every day to ensure that our culture, policies and actions reflect our commitment to those we serve."
Miller offered advice to the court and directly to Nassar as part of her impact statement. She suggested that Judge Rosemarie Aquilina ignore the 25-40 year punishment laid out in the plea agreement's guidelines and send a message to the rest of the world about his crimes.
She suggested that Nassar use an opportunity to speak at the end of the hearing to detail all of the people who could or should have stopped him during the last several decades.
"Do the right thing for us. Tell us who knew what and when," she said. "Tell us how and when there were opportunities to stop you. ... Make your last public act actually help someone. We're aware that some knew, but there are likely many more opportunities these individuals had to stop you."
Nassar is allowed to address the court at the time of his sentencing, which will likely come on Wednesday or Thursday this week. It's not clear yet if he will choose to do so.