The Ingham County judge who sentenced pedophile ex-sports doctor Larry Nassar will stay on the case -- for now.
A chief judge denied Nassar’s request to have a different judge decide if he should be resentenced.
Nassar’s lawyers say Judge Rosemarie Aquilina was not fair and impartial. That she used harsh language against Nassar and was too compassionate toward his victims.
But Judge Richard Garcia disagreed. In his order, he said – quote – “the survivors not only wanted to speak, but also needed to be heard and know that the people stand with them.” Garcia said if Aquilina had been dispassionate or polite, the survivors would have felt betrayed and like their voices again hadn’t been heard.
Nassar’s lawyers can now ask Aquilina to resentence Nassar, or appeal Judge Garcia’s decision. They have not returned a request for comment.