former USA Gymnastics team doctor pleads guilty to sexual assault (photo)

Former Olympic gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar, accused of sexual assault by more than 130 women, including several Team USA gymnasts, pleaded guilty to seven sexual assaults Wednesday in Michigan, in a deal that will send him to prison for at least 25 years.

The guilty plea to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct was the first admission by Nassar, a 54-year-old father of three and formerly one of the most respected sports physicians in elite gymnastics, that he was not performing legitimate medical therapy as he touched his victims, often without gloves.

“For all those involved, I’m so horribly sorry that this was like a match that turned into a forest fire out of control,” Nassar said during the hearing .

Nassar could be sentenced to up to 40 years for his admissions of guilt Wednesday, while also facing likely prison sentences in two other courts. Nassar faces similar charges in another county in Michigan, and a plea hearing in that case could occur next week, and he also faces a sentencing hearing in December in federal court, for three child pornography crimes he pleaded guilty to this summer.