Ex-MSU Doc Had 37,000 Child Porn Images, Some Showing Rape: Feds

Some 37,000 images and videos of child pornography were recovered from computer devices seized by the FBI in a raid on the home of Dr. Larry Nassar, a former gymnastics doctor at Michigan State University who was arrested earlier this month on federal pornography charges, the FBI said in testimony Wednesday in federal court in Grand Rapids. Some of the videos allegedly showed Nassar sexually assaulting girls under the age of 12, FBI special agent Rod Charles testified.

Nassar, 53, of Holt was arrested on federal pornography charges earlier this month. According to an indictment unsealed on Dec. 16, he had collected “thousands” of pornographic images of children during a 14-year stretch. Besides the federal charges, Nassar faces multiple first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges in Ingham County, Michigan, for the alleged sexual abuse of a child under the age of 13 in his home in Holt from 1998-2005. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has called that case “the tip of the iceberg.”

At least 50 women and girls have accused Nassar of sexual abuse. Some of the reports go back decades. Nassar, who was the USA Gymnastics team physician through four Olympic Games, also is among those mentioned in a nationwide scandal surrounding USA Gymnastics’ handling of sexual abuse allegations, first reported by the Indianapolis Star.

In Wednesday’s federal court testimony on the child pornography charges, federal Magistrate Judge Ray Kent denied bail and ordered that Nassar remain in custody, the Detroit Free Press reported. Kent called him the “worst” kind of danger to the community, and said the evidence against him is “very heavy.”

Previously Reported

• Former Olympic Gymnasts Name MSU Doctor in Sex Abuse Complaints
• MSU Fires Doctor Accused in Olympic Gymnast Sex Abuse Scandal
• Ex-MSU Doctor in Olympic Sexual Abuse Scandal Charged
• 13 Women, Girls to Sue MSU Over Doc’s Alleged Assaults
• Feds Arrest Ex-MSU Doc on Child Porn Charges

Federal Magistrate Judge Ray Kent ordered that Nassar remain detained, saying he was the "worst" kind of danger to the community. Kent characterized the evidence as "very heavy against Dr. Nassar.”

Nassar’s attorney, Matt Newberg, had asked that Nassar be detained in his home with a GPS tether.

Responding to testimony that the videos allegedly showed young girls exposing themselves to Nassar and the rape of young girls, some of them as young as age 6, Kent said he was not “going to set Dr. Nassar loose in our community until this (case) is resolved.”

When Michigan State fired Nassar in September, the hard drive on his university-issued laptop had been wiped clean, Charles said. However, Michigan State spokesman Jason Cody said in a statement issued earlier this week that the current federal charges “do not relate to Nassar’s employment at MSU.”

“Also, according to MSU Police, the investigation into the child pornography charges has not revealed any images of victims in the complaints of criminal sexual conduct that the department also is investigating,” Cody said.

New Lawsuit in California

Meanwhile, a California woman accused Nassar of sexually abusing her while she was a student at Michigan State in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles. Tiffany Michelle Thomas said in the lawsuit petition that the alleged “abuse I suffered at the hands of Dr. Nassar created a cloud over my life that I fear will never leave.”

Thomas was a softball player at the university when the alleged abuse occurred and consulted Nassar after developing lower back pain.

Thomas wrote in the petition that she feels guilty, “not because I did anything wrong, but because I was not able to come forward sooner and perhaps protect other young girls from Dr. Nassar.”

According to the complaint, Thomas reported the alleged abuses to the MSU training staff in 2000, but found herself “intimidated, coerced and threatened” by high-ranking staff members and told not to make such allegations.

Thomas says she left MSU in 2001 during her senior year and returned to California.

MSU protected Nassar because of the “immense and international acclaim” he had in the gymnastics community, which helped MSU generate funding for its athletics programs, according to the lawsuit.

Nassar also is accused of abusing two former gymnasts, including a former Olympic medalist who alleges she was molested for several years in the mid-90s, dating back to when she was 13 years old.

The second woman alleges that Team USA Gymnastics coaches ignored abuse she endured from Nassar. Both women are suing Nassar and USA Gymnastics.

In a statement, Cody said the university hasn’t been served with Thomas’ lawsuit and he could not comment on potential litigation, but he said the university takes “allegations of sexual abuse very seriously.”

“Our police, the lead investigative agency in the Nassar case, are devoting significant resources to the criminal investigation against him and are vigorously reviewing all complaints and working through them with the state Attorney General's office and federal U.S. Attorney's Office,” he said.

Last month, 13 women and girls filed notice in Michigan of their intent to sue MSU the university for allegedly failing to protect them.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Photo via Michigan State University