We have been following the case of Dr. Larry Nassar for many months now, since the very first allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were made public. It has been a long and difficult road for everyone involved, and now a new curve ball has been thrown into the mix. MSU, who cleared Nassar in a previous investigation, is now claiming that they support the allegations of abuse against him. Need a refresher on the story? Here goes…
Dr. Nassar, an osteopathic physician specializing in sports medicine, was a faculty member at Michigan State University and the team physician for USA Gymnastics. However, last year he came under increasing fire regarding his alleged sexual assault of many women and girls over many years.
It all began in September of 2016, when the very first allegations were exposed following an investigation by the Indianapolis Star. An athlete named Rachel Denhollander made a public claim that Nassar has sexually assaulted her during medical treatments when she was younger. Shortly thereafter, MSU fired Dr. Nassar and alleged victims began popping out of the woodwork.
In November of 2016, following another investigation, charges were brought against Dr. Nassar by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. These included three counts of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. In at least one of these cases, the victim is alleged to have been younger than 13.
Larry Nassar was arrested and then granted a $1 million bond, which he paid. However, his freedom was short lived. In December 2016, Nassar was arrested again, this time by federal officials on child pornography charges. According to court records, Nassar was accused of receiving, or attempting to receive, sexually explicit images of children.
Additionally, he was accused of possessing one or more computer disks or files that contained thousands of child pornography pictures between 2003 and 2016. As a result he was charged with multiple counts of Possession of Child Pornography, and Receipt or Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography. After the arrest by federal officials, Nassar was denied bond and he is still held in detention.
In addition to the criminal charges he is facing, Nassar is also being sued by a number of his alleged victims in civil court. To date more than 100 women have come forward claiming that he sexually abused them during medical treatments, many of which were administered on MSU campus.
MSU’s Office of Institutional Equity has recently released their final investigative report, which supports claims of sexual abuse suffered by Denhollander at the hands of Nassar. This comes two and a half years after their first report, which cleared him of similar allegations and allowed him to keep practicing medicine at MSU.
Denhollander’s attorney went on the record to condemn MSU for the conflicting findings. “There should be a criminal child endangerment investigation regarding why the 2014 investigation by MSU cleared Nassar. If the university could figure out in 2017 that his ‘treatment’ of young women and girls was sexual assault, why couldn’t they figure it out in 2014?”
We will continue to watch this case as it develops, and keep you updated. Until then, if you or a loved one have been accused of sexually abusing a child or underaged minor, you are going to need help from a skilled defense attorney who has experience handling sex abuse cases in Michigan courts. Call us today at 800-576-6035. We are here to help.