13 Women, Girls to Sue MSU Over Doc’s Alleged Assaults

Thirteen women and girls, most of them gymnasts from across Michigan, plan to sue Michigan State University for what their lawyers allege was a failure by the school to properly investigate sexual assault complaints against Dr. Larry Nassar, who has been charged with a felony in Michigan and is under the cloud of a sweeping investigation of alleged assaults on members of the USA Gymnastics Team.

In a notice of the pending lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Court of Claims, Nassar is accused of “digital penetration” without proper notice “under the guise of providing care” at his Michigan State office from 1996 to 2015, The Detroit News reported.

Earlier this fall, Nassar, 53, was fired from his job at Michigan State, where he was a team physician for the gymnastics and women’s crew teams and an associate professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine. Last week, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed multiple first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge against Nassar, saying at the time it was the “tip of the iceberg.” In the criminal case, Nassar is accused of the ongoing sexual abuse of a child under the age of 13 in his home in Holt from 1998-2005.

The victim is not a Nassar family member, athlete or gymnast, Schuette has said. A conviction could result in a life sentence.

More than 50 women and girls have lodged complaints against Nassar for acts that allegedly occurred at Michigan State. At least one was a member of the Team USA women’s Olympic gymnastics team, and several others filed reports with MSU police.

Nassar, who is has denied any wrongdoing, has not been charged in the Olympics investigation, first reported by the Indianapolis Star. The report chronicled decades-old sexual abuse complaints against Nassar and others connected to USA Gymnastics, some of them involving victims as young as 7 years old. According to the newspaper’s investigation, USA Gymnastics officials brushed off at least 14 reports of sexual abuse by team officials.

Photo via Michigan State University