LANSING, Mich. - Judge Rosemarie Aquilina will remain on the Larry Nassar case, despite an effort by his attorneys to remove her.
Judge Richard Garcia, Ingham County Circuit Court's chief judge, issued his ruling today. The matter went to him after Aquilina refused to remove herself from the case on Aug. 3, and Nassar's court-appointed appellate attorneys appealed to him.
Nassar's attorneys can appeal Garcia's ruling or proceed to a hearing before Aquilina on whether Nassar can be resentenced.
"The die was cast in the courtroom and Defendant's sentence was forged by his own words and deeds," Garcia wrote in his seven-page opinion. "Consideration of whether he should be resentenced can be fairly reviewed by the judge uniquely situated to provide justice in this case.
"The judge who heard these survivors is the only one who should properly render any re-sentence."
Nassar, 54, formerly of Holt, is serving a 60-year federal prison sentence on three child pornography charges. Aquilina also sentenced him to 40 to 175 years in prison in January on seven sexual assault charges. Weeks later, Eaton County Circuit Court Judge Janice Cunningham sentenced Nassar to 40 to 125 years in prison on three sexual assault charges.
Nassar, the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor who sexually assaulted more than 300 women and girls, has appealed all three of his sentences, in addition to seeking Aquilina's disqualification from his case.
Nassar's attorneys cited Aquilina's comments during and after his sentencing hearing. They argued Aquilina — who told Nassar when she sentenced him that she was signing his "death warrant" — was biased against him and used her position to push a personal advocacy agenda.
Nassar's Ingham County sentencing lasted seven days, was broadcast live around the world and saw victim-impact statements from 156 women and girls. It publicized Nassar, his crimes and his connections to MSU and USA Gymnastics at a level not seen before.
Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.
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