Larry Nassar Survivor Names Child After the Detective Who Fought For Her
(CNN) -- She was the first woman to publicly accuse Larry Nassar of sexual assault and the last to face him in court. Now, Rachael Denhollander is thanking a detective who fought for her, by naming her fourth child after her.
Denhollander, 33, gave tribute to Michigan State University Detective Lt. Andrea Renee Munford by naming her new daughter Elora Renee Joy.
In a tweet on Friday, Denhollander explained the meaning of the name, stating, "Elora - to God belongs the victory. Renee - Rebirth, redemption. And after Dt. Lt. Andrea Renee Munford, who fought for us and made redeeming so much evil, possible."
"Just need a few more babies so we can have namesakes for the others who fought for us too," she added, alongside a photo of the sleeping newborn.
Angela Povilaitis, the former Michigan assistant attorney general who prosecuted Nassar, tweeted, "Wow! I shared this post with Andrea (who isn't on twitter). I have such happy tears right now. What a beautiful & perfect name!"
In 2000, Denhollader was 15 when she was molested by Nassar, a Michigan State University sports-medicine doctor.
She publicly came forward about the event in 2016 and has since joined an army of more than 300 women and girls with similar allegations of abuse.
After listening to nearly 200 heartbreaking victim impact statements in February, Nassar pled guilty to three counts of criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced to 100 years in prison.
In May, Michigan State reached a settlement in which it will pay $500 million to 332 victims who issued lawsuits against the university.
In a statement following the settlement, Denhollander said, "The litigation phase is over, but the fight for change and accountability, the fight to give survivors a voice and protect the next generation, has only just begun."
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.
