The father who rushed convicted sex predator Larry Nassar last week will not accept the $31,000 donations that were intended for his legal expenses. He will instead give the money to local charities that assist survivors of sexual abuse, TMZ pointed out.
On Feb. 2, Randall Margraves was taken into police custody after he lunged at Nassar during a court hearing. Margraves is the father of three daughters who spoke out against Nassar, accusing him of sexual assault. During the incident, Margraves asked the judged to spend a few minutes alone with Nassar. When the judge denied the request, the father attempted to attack the former Olympic gymnastics doctor. Police intervened and restrained the man.
Video of the incident quickly circulated on the internet. Many assumed Margraves would face criminal charges for the attempted attack, so they set up a GoFundMe account to collect money for his legal defenses. The page ended up raising more than $31,000; however, Margraves was never charged with a crime. Because of this, he released a statement on the page, announcing he was not going to keep the money. He will offer donors a refund until March 9, and anything left over will go toward “charities like Small Talk, RAVE, and the Firecracker Foundation.”
“At the time of the incident, I didn’t know that the great brotherhood had done this, and I was overcome with gratitude when I found out,” he said in a statement. “I appreciate everyone stepping up to support me, but help is not needed for me. After giving people the chance to get a refund, the donations will go to organizations that help the sisterhood of survivors and other victims of abuse.”
Nassar was sentenced Monday to 40 to 125 years in prison for the three counts of criminal sexual assault. He will serve the term concurrently with the 40 to 175 year sentence he received in January for seven counts of sexual assault. Nassar was also sentenced to 60 years for child pornography charges.
