At this point, the word “Nassar” has come to mean everything that is wrong with the world these days. From ‘rape culture’ and sexual abuse, to the unchecked power of doctors and the culture of silence on university campuses, ‘Nassar’ is now the catch phrase used to sum up the many social changes that people believe are long overdue. However, despite the fact that Larry Nassar himself has been sentenced for his crimes and will serve out the rest of his life behind bars, the troubles others at MSU are facing still rages on.
Nassar wasn’t the only one who faced trouble over this…
After the trial ended, numerous civil suits were brought against MSU, sponsors cut ties with the university after survivors pressured them into not aligning with those who enabled Nassar, and multiple people in the university’s upper echelons were dragged out to face the music. One of the more publicized cases is that of former MSU president Lou Anna Simon, who is facing charges for knowing about the abuse and covering it up, and also for lying to the police during the investigation.
Simon’s preliminary hearing has been going for months…
Simon’s preliminary hearing has been dragging on for months, as the court tries to determine if she should go to trial for lying to police during the Nassar investigation. The hearing started on February 5th, and here it is April 16th, and we’re nowhere near done. In fact, it’s worth noting that Judge Julie Reincke, who is presiding over the hearing in Eaton County, opened the morning with stern comments to both attorneys not to, “drag this into September.” It remains to be seen if they’ll listen to the Judge’s warning.
The issue is whether or not she knew about the abuse…
What attorneys are trying to determine right now, is whether or not Simon was aware of Nassar’s sexual abuse of his patients, and if she knew, what she did with that information. According to her defense attorneys, she had no idea what Nassar was doing to his victims. According to the prosecutor, she knew all about it and chose to do nothing because it would make her and the university bad. Then, when that came to light in the investigation, she lied to the police in the hopes of covering up the fact that she was complicit.
Simon’s senior advisor is providing testimony in court…
The most recent day or testimony began with Simon’s senior advisor Paulette Granberry-Russell was recalled to the stand to testify about what information she passed on to Simon. According to Granberry-Russell, she never mentioned Nassar’s name to Simon, and has no recollection of ever asking Simon to be involved in the Nassar case. Simon’s defense is working hard to prove that she knew little to nothing about Title IX investigation was completed during Simon’s tenure at MSU, that looked into allegations of abuse against Nassar.
This case is going to drag on for a very long time…
The Nassar case took a very long time, start to finish, and there were hundreds of witnesses who were willing to testify about what he had done to them. But the case of Lou Anna Simon is much more complex. It can be hard to prove what someone did or didn’t know if there’s no paper trail. It becomes a case of he said/she said, and no one is 100% certain whether someone else was privy to certain facts or not. But we’ll be watching the case unfold, and we’ll keep you updated as new details emerge.