Rosemarie Aquilina

“Nassar constantly wanted control. He wanted to continue to control me, to control the girls, and to say: ‘Look what I’ve done. I took the plea for you’. That was constant … Did he deserve my respect? No. Did he give me respect? No. Did he give any of the victims respect? No. He never owned it. That infuriated me. It should infuriate everyone.”

Rosemarie Aquilina · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-24

Aquilina discusses Nassar's desire for control and his lack of respect for his victims.

“The most interesting thing was that at first I had a list of maybe a dozen names who wanted to speak, then it was 20, then it was 30, and then it got up to 80, 100, etc.”

Rosemarie Aquilina · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-24

Aquilina describes how the number of victims wanting to speak at Nassar's sentencing grew from a dozen to over 100.

“What happened was that one girl empowered the next, who empowered the next. It was the beginning of their healing because they felt finally heard and believed, in a safe space, and they got to tell him to his face, eyeball to eyeball: ‘You hurt me. I am not a number, I am a name, how dare you?’”

Rosemarie Aquilina · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-24

Aquilina explains how one victim empowered the next during the sentencing hearings, enabling their healing.

“I know, dealing with so many victims, that when they speak publicly you see them shed their pain and get taller. You see them have a relief, an automatic release,”

Rosemarie Aquilina · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-24

Aquilina, who sentenced Nassar after allowing 169 victims to deliver impact statements, reflects on how victims shed their pain when they speak publicly.