USOC Hires Law Firm to Conduct Investigation into Larry Nassar Scandal

The United States Olympic Committee has hired an outside law firm to conduct an investigation into the handling of former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar's sexual abuse case.

According to Olympics specialist Philip Hersh, Ropes & Gray will serve as the outside counsel.

Last week, Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against children, some of which occurred in conjunction with his time as a USAG doctor.

According to ESPN.com's Dan Murphy, 156 people provided impact statements during Nassar's sentencing, most of whom were women and girls who said Nassar had sexually abused them.

Olympic gold medal-winning gymnasts Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber were among those who said Nassar sexually assaulted them while serving as a USA Gymnastics physician.

In a tweet on Jan. 22, Raisman demanded that the USOC conduct an independent investigation to determine how and why Nassar's abuse was allowed to carry on for so long:

The USOC recently demanded that the entire USA Gymnastics Board of Directors step down under the threat that USAG would be decertified if it didn't.

The directors officially stepped down on Jan. 31, which represented the latest significant shakeup for USA Gymnastics after former USAG president Steve Penny resigned last year.

Nassar was the national medical coordinator for USA Gymnastics from 1996 through 2014.

In addition to his sentence of 40-175 years, Nassar is also serving a 60-year prison sentence on child pornography charges and has plead guilty to a further three counts of criminal sexual conduct.