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THE SILENT TREATMENT - MSU doctor’s alleged sexual assault victims talked for 20 years. Was anyone listening?
Ann Arbor News
February 12, 2017
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
For two decades, he was a household name in the gymnastics community, a star in sports medicine and a sought-after physician at Michigan State University. He treated top athletes, such as Kerri Strug and Jordyn Wieber, and had a stellar reputation for sports-injury prevention and athlete rehab. He was the team doctor for U.S. gymnasts at four Olympics. He was beloved for his warm and disarming manner, which put even shy teenage girls at ease. If there was a dark side to Dr. Larry Nassar, almost nobody saw it.
His golden career has come crashing down in the past five months. Today, Nassar is in federal custody on receipt and possession of child pornography charges, and faces three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a family friend allegedly abused from the age of 6 until she was 12. Dozens of other women have filed criminal and/ or civil complaints alleging sexual abuse or other misconduct dating back to at least 1994 and continuing into 2016. All the alleged victims, in both the criminal and civil cases, are women.
“It’s Penn State all over again,” alleges Brian McKeen, a Detroit attorney representing one of the women. “You have the same kind of institutional failures, involving multiple victims violated by a trusted staffer.”
Nassar, 53, has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. His attorney, Matthew Newburg, declined comment for this story, and neither Nassar nor his attorney have responded in court documents to the civil lawsuits.
That it took so long to thoroughly investigate the accusations around Nassar remains one of the most troubling aspects of the burgeoning sex scandal, say alleged victims and their lawyers interviewed by MLive.
Over the years, some of Nassar’s alleged victims say they were telling parents, coaches, counselors, MSU athletic trainers—even police—that, without consent or explanation, Nassar was digitally penetrating them in the vagina and anus during medical treatments for back, hip and other injuries.
Yet again and again, the women’s accounts were viewed with skepticism, the women claim.
“I feel like I didn’t do a good job protecting those who came after me,” said Tiffany Thomas Lopez, who says she was abused in 1999 and 2000 while she was a softball player at MSU. “But I did speak up, on more than one occasion.”
It’s not just Nassar’s reputation at stake. Also engulfed in the controversy are MSU, where Nassar was a faculty member and practitioner at MSU’s sports-medicine clinic from 1997 until he was fired last September; USA Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body, where Nassar started as an athletic trainer in 1986 and served as chief medical coordinator and U.S. team doctor from 1996 to 2015; and Twistars, a high-profile USA Gymnastics training facility in the Lansing area, which referred athletes to Nassar.
All three organizations are named as co-defendants in some of the lawsuits. MSU, the only entity to employ Nassar, denied the university had knowledge of any complaints prior to 2014 and said it had not protected Nassar, according to MSU spokesman Jason Cody. In an email to members of the MSU community, university President Lou Anna K. Simon addressed the allegations and said MSU has taken a “proactive approach.”
Among the missed opportunities to address alleged complaints involving Nassar:
› In late 1997 or mid-1998, a gymnast alleges she complained to MSU gymnastics coach Kathie Klages, while the gymnast was part of a youth gymnastics program Klages instructed, according to the gymnast’s allegations in the lawsuit. The gymnast, a teenager at the time, claims in the lawsuit she was “concerned” about Nassar’s treatments. Klages discouraged her from filing a formal complaint and informed Nassar of the conversation, according to the court filing. Klages did not return requests for comment.
› In 1997, a parent complained to Twistars owner John Geddert about Nassar’s medical treatments, according to one lawsuit. Geddert not only failed to investigate, but continued to recommend Nassar as a physician, the suit claims.
› In 1999, an MSU track and cross country runner told a staff member of the athletic program and athletic trainers that Nassar was penetrating her vagina during treatment for an injured hamstring, according to her lawsuit, which identifies her as Jane X Doe. The suit alleges the coach and trainers told her that Nassar was “an Olympic doctor” and “knew what he was doing.”
› In 1999 and again in 2000, when Lopez was a MSU softball player, she told three MSU athletic trainers that Nassar was sexually inappropriate during medical treatments, Lopez told MLive. The trainers dismissed her concerns, and one of them told Lopez that she should feel grateful to be treated by a world-renowned doctor, Lopez said.
› In 2000, Rachael Denhollander says she was abused by Nassar when she was a 15-year-old Kalamazoo gymnast treated at MSU’s sports-medicine clinic. When she told a Kalamazoo-area gymnastics coach about the alleged abuse four years later, the coach suggested Denhollander keep quiet, Denhollander said. (MLive does not usually name alleged victims in sex-abuse cases, but Denhollander and Lopez are allowing their names to be used.)
› In 2004, the family friend in Nassar’s criminal assault case told a counselor about the alleged abuse, according to an Ingham County court document. The counselor had the 12-year old girl and her parents meet with Nassar, who denied the allegations, and the girl’s parents forced her to recant; the girl later told “multiple therapists and counselors” about the abuse, the document says. There is no record of anyone calling law enforcement about the allegations, although state law mandates mental-health counselors to report child sexual abuse.
› In 2004, a criminal complaint was filed with Meridian Township police by a Nassar patient alleging sexual abuse. Police are not commenting now on why they closed the case without seeking criminal charges.
› In 2014, a second police report filed by a different woman with MSU police alleged abuse during medical treatment. The case was referred to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, which declined to press charges after they recognized it as a legitimate medical procedure.
› In the summer of 2015, USA Gymnastics quietly cut ties with Nassar after hearing of “athlete concerns.” But MSU says it was never told of those concerns, and Nassar continued to practice at MSU’s sports clinic for another year, as well as treating girls from Twistars and Holt High School.
Kiki Wixsom, director of the Twistars DeWitt facility, said Nassar “has never been an employee with Twistars” and said she was not allowed to comment further. Owner John Geddert did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Holt Public Schools officials said they ended Nassar’s contract in September 2016 when they first heard about allegations of sexual abuse from news reports. Superintendent Dave Hornak said student athletes were encouraged to report any misconduct, but to his knowledge no Holt students have come forward with complaints against Nassar.
USA Gymnastics said in a statement the organization contacted the FBI “immediately” in 2015 after it learned of allegations and relieved Nassar of duties, but declined further comment.
Denhollander said she hesitated to contact police for more than 15 years because “I was 100 percent confident that I would not be believed.”
Nassar “was (MSU’s) golden boy. He was USAG’s golden boy,” she said. “He was so loved in the community that I was very sure … I would be crucified and he would end up empowered to know he couldn’t get caught.
“What breaks my heart more than anything,” she said, “is that all these women who came forward and did what I didn’t do, that’s exactly what happened to them.”
Denhollander finally came forward in August 2016 after she read an Indianapolis Star expose on USA Gymnastics’ alleged mishandling of sexual-abuse allegations. Nassar wasn’t mentioned in the Star’s August report. But Denhollander thought the investigation offered an opportunity to bring Nassar to justice.
She contacted the Indianapolis Star and the police, which led to a Sept. 12 news story in which Denhollander and another woman, a former Olympic medalist, detailed their alleged abuse by Nassar. The story sparked a flood of criminal and civil complaints from other Nassar patients.
To date, at least 50 women have filed criminal complaints, which are being investigated by MSU police and the Michigan Attorney General’s office, and at least 26 women have filed lawsuits. There are also 10 Title IX complaints against MSU. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on gender and, in part, requires schools that take federal funds to take immediate action to address sexual violence.
Simon said in her message MSU is conducting an internal review and complying with law enforcement requests.
“While the investigations continue, one fact appears clear. Based on the dozens of criminal complaints made against Nassar to MSU Police and the criminal charges brought against him by the Michigan Attorney General and federal U.S. Attorney’s Office, Nassar abused the trust of his patients and his professional responsibility as a physician,” she wrote.
“At this point, Larry Nassar has more victims than Jerry Sandusky,” the abuser in the Penn State case, alleged John Manly, one of the attorneys working with some of Nassar’s accusers. Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of sexual conduct related to 10 victims; and Penn State has paid settlements to 33 victims who filed civil complaints.
Manly said it’s not just Nassar who needs to answer for what happened.
“This was all avoidable, if someone had just taken action back in 1997 when this was first reported,” Manly said.
“When you’ve got a 17-or 18-year-old girl telling coaches and trainers that a doctor is putting his hand inside her vagina for 30 to 40 minutes without a glove or lubrication, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you need to report that,” he said.
‘TOP OF HIS PROFESSION’
Nassar first became an athletic trainer while attending North Farmington High School, where he graduated in 1981.
He was especially drawn to gymnasts. “What they did with their bodies and what they went through was amazing to me,” he said in a 2012 story in Greater Lansing Sport magazine.
Nassar received his kinesiology degree from the University of Michigan in 1985; graduated from MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1993; and did a four-year residency in family and sports medicine at St. Lawrence Hospital in Lansing.
Meanwhile, Nassar began volunteering with USA Gymnastics in 1986, starting out as an athletic trainer for the U.S. national team. He filled similar roles for MSU football and at Twistars.
In 1996, Nassar, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, was named chief medical coordinator for USA Gymnastics and became the team doctor for U.S. gymnasts at the Olympics in Atlanta. It was still unpaid, volunteer work, but the experience and exposure were priceless.
Nassar “may be young, but he’s just risen to the top of his profession,” MSU said in a 1996 news release.
When he finished his residency in 1997, Nassar joined the MSU faculty, an appointment that included teaching, seeing patients at MSU’s sports-medicine clinics and serving as team doctor to various MSU athletic teams, primarily women’s gymnastics and crew.
“He is eager and dynamic and appears to have exceptional interpersonal skills,” said a memo recommending his appointment from his MSU personnel file. “He is well-known and respected nationally and internationally in the field of Sports Medicine.”
Nassar’s MSU personnel file, obtained by MLive under the Freedom of Information Act, shows Nassar continued to get high marks over the next 20 years.
A 2013 job evaluation noted his dedication, compassion, and “tireless commitment” to his specialty within the gymnastics community.
Six times, Nassar was voted National Contributor of the Year by the Elite Gymnastics Coaches Association. In 2012, he received the Alumnus of the Year Award from the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. He was lauded for starting a gymnastics program for autistic children.
Nassar also was a high-profile community figure, especially in Holt, where he lived with his wife, a physician assistant, and their three children. Nassar taught catechism classes at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in East Lansing, was team doctor at Holt High School and ran for the Holt school board this past fall.
After Nassar was fired in September, he sent an email to his supervisor at MSU.
“I am so sorry that this situation has been so public in the media, casting such a shadow over myself and MSU,” Nassar wrote. “I understand your position and appreciate all the support you have given me. My heart is breaking but I will stay strong in my Faith and with the support of my family and my friends I will overcome this.”
‘SOMETHING REALLY WEIRD’
Of the sex-abuse allegations made public against Nassar, the earliest involves a former Olympic gymnast who filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles.
To protect her anonymity, the lawsuit lists the woman as Jane JD Doe. She is described as a bronze medalist on the 2000 Olympics gymnastics team.
She first came into contact with Nassar in 1994, as an adolescent competing with the U.S. national team, the lawsuit says. While treating her injuries, the suit says, Nassar groped her body and made “inappropriate” conversation about sex.
Nassar then moved on to “intravaginal adjustments” —
treatments involving vaginal and anal penetration, performed without gloves or lubricant and without a third party in the room, the lawsuit says. Some of these treatments occurred in her hotel room while traveling for competitions, including a trip to China, according to the suit, which alleges the abuse continued through 2000.
The lawsuit doesn’t say whether Jane JD Doe told anyone before filing her lawsuit in September 2016.
Meanwhile, Lopez and another MSU student athlete each say they told MSU trainers in 1999 that Nassar was doing vaginal penetration during medical treatment, according to their lawsuit.
Lopez said she was a MSU freshman on the softball team in spring 1999 when she saw Nassar for a lower back injury.
During a treatment with a female athletic trainer in the room, Nassar digitally penetrated her vagina, Lopez said. She later asked the trainer about it.
“She reassured me that this is what he was supposed to be doing, and this was going to help me to play pain free,” Lopez said.
The penetration was repeated over multiple treatments in the spring of 1999 and 2000, she said. “He would insert his fingers, and it was in and out. My trainer described it as a kind of massage to help the bone.”
Initially, Lopez trusted Nassar and the trainer. But Lopez said she felt “very uncomfortable” about the procedure, adding Nassar did not use a glove, explain the procedure or get consent.
In her sophomore year, she had a new trainer, with whom she discussed the issue in more detail. Lopez said she also told another member of the athletic training department.
Lopez told that person that Nassar’s treatments weren’t providing relief for her back pain, and she was feeling more and more uncomfortable.
Lopez said she was told she could file a complaint against Nassar, but “I was really encouraged not to,” Lopez said.
“At the end of the conversation, I remember her reminding me that he was a world-renowned doctor who treated elite athletes,” Lopez said.
Lopez didn’t file a complaint, but she stopped seeing Nassar.
“I left school feeling something was not right, even though they said it was OK,” said Lopez, who is now 32 and living in California. “I never forgot about Dr. Nassar, and I always wondered if there was someone else out there like me, who went through something really weird.”
What really bothers her now, she says, is the feeling of guilt that she could have put a stop to it if she had been more forceful. But she also blames MSU.
“As far as Michigan State goes, I do feel they need to be held accountable,” she said.
MSU spokesman Jason Cody said the university is conducting an internal investigation.
“We are talking to all relevant people, we are looking into this and to date we have found no evidence” that any complaints were brought to MSU before 2014, Cody said.
POLICE CALLED TWICE
Criminal complaints were brought before police at least twice. Neither investigation resulted in charges being filed.
The first occurred in 2004, when a report was filed with Meridian Township police by a 16-year old student athlete, claiming Nassar touched her vagina and breasts, according to a lawsuit. Police confirm the existence of the report, which was closed without charges being sought, but say it cannot be released because of the current criminal investigation.
Meridian Township police did not notify MSU of the complaint, Cody said. And neither did Nassar, according to a Sept. 16, 2016, letter the university sent him notifying him of a potential dismissal.
A similar complaint was filed with MSU police in 2014, where an MSU athlete claimed Nassar “cupped her buttocks, massaged her breast and vaginal area and became sexually aroused” while treating her hip pain, according to a lawsuit.
Nassar was suspended during the 2014 police investigation, and the case was forwarded to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office. That office determined Nassar’s treatment was medically legitimate.
The prosecutor’s office was swayed to drop the case after seeing a video demonstrating the medical legitimacy of Nassar’s procedures, said Gretchen Whitmer, who served as interim Ingham County prosecutor for the second half of 2016. The prosecutor in 2014 was Stuart Dunnings, who resigned in March 2016, amid charges of misconduct in office.
In her lawsuit, the woman said, MSU’s investigative report omitted Nassar’s arousal and the fact that she had to physically remove his hand from her body. MSU officials declined to comment on that accusation.
Moreover, two women allege Nassar appeared sexually aroused during the procedure, and seven of the 26 women who filed lawsuits said Nassar massaged or otherwise touched their breasts during a treatment, according to court documents.
One result of the 2014 complaint: MSU established protocols for intravaginal procedures performed by Nassar. According to a memo in Nassar’s personnel file, he was told he needed to have a third party in the room when doing “anything close to a sensitive area”; he needed to minimize skin-to-skin contact in “these regions”; and he needed to explain such treatments in detail to the third party.
No other doctors at MSU do intravaginal sports-medicine procedures, according to Cody.
FORCED TO RECANT?
The same year Nassar was questioned by Meridian Township police, he also was contacted by a counselor with a 12-year-old client alleging abuse, according to court documents. That client is the alleged victim in criminal sexual conduct charges filed by the state against Nassar in November.
According to a transcript of that Nov. 21 hearing seeking an arrest warrant for Nassar, MSU Detective Sgt. Andrea Munford said the victim is now a 24-year-old woman whose parents were close friends with the Nassars. Starting in 1998 when she was 6 years old, Munford testified, “Nassar exposed his erect penis to her in the basement,” and told the girl “she could see it or touch it whenever she wanted.”
For the next five years, Nassar repeatedly exposed himself to the girl, masturbated in front of her, rubbed his penis against her feet and digitally penetrated her vagina, according to testimony.
The girl eventually told her parents, who took her to a counselor, Munford said. The counselor arranged for a meeting between Nassar, the parents and the girl.
“Nassar denied the allegation, and (the girl’s) parents decided they didn’t believe her,” Munford testified. Eventually, they made her recant her allegations.
But since then, Munford testified, the girl has “recanted her recantation many times,” including to “multiple therapists and counselors, even saying his name to them.”
‘ATHLETE CONCERNS’
In 2015, USA Gymnastics quietly cut ties with Nassar amid
unspecified “athlete concerns.” Nassar was part of USAG for almost 30 years, including 19 as the organization’s chief medical coordinator and team doctor for the U.S. national team. That included accompanying U.S. gymnasts to the 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2012 Olympics; Nassar didn’t go to the 2004 games because of the birth of his daughter.
“When USA Gymnastics learned of athlete concerns about Dr. Nassar in the summer of 2015, we immediately notified the FBI and relieved Nassar of any further assignments,” USAG said in a statement in response to MLive questions.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice said federal officials are not commenting on the Nassar investigation, including when or if the FBI was contacted by USA Gymnastics.
Cody said USA Gymnastics did not tell Michigan State in 2015 about allegations involving Nassar, who continued seeing patients at MSU for a year after he left the USAG.
Nassar wasn’t suspended at MSU until late August 2016, shortly after Denhollander filed a police report. As more complaints flooded in, Nassar was fired three weeks later.
The official reason for his termination, according to his personnel file: Nassar failed to follow the protocols established after a 2014 investigation.
“The MSU Police has received two new patient complaints which post-date these directives,” a Sept. 16 letter to Nassar from the university states.
“Both individuals allege that you performed the procedure at issue without gloves, without another member of the medical staff in the room, and without providing an explanation of the procedure. …”
CULTURE OF ENABLEMENT?
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has spoken forcefully of the need to investigate Nassar, calling him a “predator.” Schuette said Nassar is the only focus of the criminal investigation, and the attorney general has praised MSU’s handling of the situation. The bulk of the criminal complaints—which involve Nassar’s work treating women at MSU or in venues overseen by USAG Gymnastics — remain under investigation by MSU police and the attorney general’s office.
But the long list of alleged victims over a 22-year period is infuriating to Lopez and Denhollander and their lawyers, who feel Nassar could and should have been stopped long ago.
“This whole epidemic of sexual abuse was entirely preventable,” McKeen said. “It should have been stopped after the first athlete made a report. It certainly should have stopped after a second athlete made a report.”
Whitmer acknowledges that “in retrospect, I think a lot of people in the community, you know, are analyzing actions that maybe should have been different.”
Alleged victims say the people they told about their experiences deferred to his medical expertise.
“The way they would speak about Dr. Nassar, it was like he was a god almost,” Lopez said.
Doctors may feel protected by their status in a community — which is all the more reason accusations of sexual misconduct against them must be taken seriously, said Laura Palumbo, communications director with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
“Patients and communities place a great deal of trust in medical providers, and it’s alarming to consider appropriate investigations and sanctions may not have been pursued,” Palumbo said.
Denhollander is particularly scathing about those who she feels enabled Nassar.
“None of the adults who could have stopped Nassar, before he got to me and before he got to these other women, none of them did what they should have done,” Denhollander said. “Pedophiles are only as good as the people who surround them.
“And Nassar was surrounded by some people who were very willing to put other things above the protection of children.”
What MSU knew: 14 were warned of Nassar abuse
Detroit News
January 19, 2018
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/tech/2018/01/18/msu-president-told-nassar-complaint-2014/1042071001/
Reports of sexual misconduct by Dr. Larry Nassar reached at least 14 Michigan State University representatives in the two decades before his arrest, with no fewer than eight women reporting his actions, a Detroit News investigation has found.
Among those notified was MSU President Lou Anna Simon, who was informed in 2014 that a Title IX complaint and a police report had been filed against an unnamed physician, she told The News on Wednesday.
“I was informed that a sports medicine doctor was under investigation,” said Simon, who made the brief comments after appearing in court Wednesday to observe a sentencing hearing for Nassar. “I told people to play it straight up, and I did not receive a copy of the report. That’s the truth.”
Among the others who were aware of alleged abuse were athletic trainers, assistant coaches, a university police detective and an official who is now MSU’s assistant general counsel, according to university records and accounts of victims who spoke to The News.
Collectively, the accounts show MSU missed multiple opportunities over two decades to stop Nassar, a graduate of its osteopathic medical school who became a renowned doctor but went on to molest scores of girls and women under the guise of treating them for pain.
Nassar, 54, pleaded guilty to assaulting nine girls in Ingham County but faces more than 150 civil suits that also involve MSU and others. Already sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography in federal court, Nassar will be in Ingham County Circuit Court on Thursday for the third day of his sentencing hearing for seven counts of criminal sexual conduct.
Asked about the women who said they tried to alert MSU to Nassar’s misconduct, Simon declined to comment.
“Those issues are points of dispute and part of civil litigation and I am not going to comment on,” she said. “What I can tell you is what I knew, straight up. My standard response is to tell people to play things straight up and I did not receive a copy of the report.”
Nassar’s case has drawn comparisons to that of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach who was found guilty in 2012 of molesting boys on campus. Three university officials, including president Graham Spanier, were sentenced to prison for failing to report Sandusky to authorities.
Former gymnast Rachael Denhollander, who in September 2016 became the first to publicly accuse Nassar of molesting her, says MSU officials should be held accountable for Nassar’s crimes.
“A monster was stopped last year, after decades of being allowed to prey on women and little girls, and he wasn’t stopped by a single person who could have, and should have stopped him at least 20 years ago,” Denhollander told The News last week. “He was stopped by the victims, who had to fight through being silenced, being threatened, being mocked, by the officials at MSU who they appealed to for help.
“And now the very people who should have been protecting us all along ... have thumbed their nose at any semblance of accountability.”
Two candidates for statewide office have called for Simon’s resignation, despite claims that the university’s legal defense team found no evidence that anyone other than Nassar knew of his criminal conduct.
In a response to a request for information from Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, former federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who led an internal MSU inquiry into the Nassar case, wrote: “While many in the community today wish that they had identified Nassar as a predator, we believe the evidence in this case will show that no one else at MSU knew that Nassar engaged in criminal behavior.”
Six women with ties to the university, however, each told The News that they complained to at least one person at MSU when they believed Nassar’s conduct crossed from medical to sexual, and a seventh woman outlined her report to MSU during sentencing. The eighth woman complained to the Meridian Township Police.
Andrea Bitely, a spokeswoman for Schuette, declined to comment on whether his office is investigating who knew what at MSU.
MSU spokesman Jason Cody said the school responded vigorously once Nassar’s crimes came to light in 2016. He said campus police took 135 reports of criminal sexual conduct and executed a search warrant that contributed to Nassar’s convictions. MSU also established a $10 million counseling fund last month.
He said it was “not appropriate” to compare the Nassar case with that of Penn State, where leaders discussed “and illegally ignored” allegations against Sandusky.
“We want to reiterate again that we are truly sorry for the abuse Nassar’s victims suffered, the pain it caused and the pain it continues to cause,” he said. “As the president said at the December board meeting, this situation also reinforces the importance of taking a hard look at ourselves and learning from what happened — because it should never happen again.”
When the complaints began
Nassar was a respected osteopathic sports doctor at MSU and USA Gymnastics who treated some of the nation’s most prominent Olympic athletes. Coaches and others referred competitors to him for pain relief that many understood to involve osteopathic manipulation near the breasts and vagina.
But Nassar admitted to sexually assaulting young women during treatment by touching their breasts or buttocks or inserting his fingers inside them for his own gratification without gloves or lubricant.
Some victims testified he assaulted them while their parents were present while others said he showed signs of sexual arousal during exams.
One of the more than 150 civil lawsuits filed against Nassar, MSU and others alleges his earliest known assault was in 1992 as he was earning his osteopathic medical degree at MSU.
The victim, who is not named in court records, said Nassar assaulted her when she was 12 to 14. He asked her to his apartment for a study on manipulation treatments and paid her with a full body massage, during which he digitally penetrated her vaginally and anally, according to filings in the suit.
That victim did not alert anyone at MSU, according to her attorney, Okemos-based Mick Grewal.
When a similar thing happened to her, Larissa Boyce did.
Boyce — the first person who is believed to have told someone at MSU about Nassar — reported him in 1997, almost 20 years before he was fired and prosecuted.
A 16-year-old high school student in Williamston, east of Lansing, Boyce began seeing Nassar after hurting her back in a youth gymnastics program at MSU.
Nassar put his fingers inside Boyce during weekly visits with him at his university office, and in a room near where the gymnasts practiced at Jenison Field House.
After a long appointment with Nassar at Jenison, a coach asked Boyce what was happening during that time. Boyce told the coach, who insisted that Boyce tell MSU’s then-head gymnastics coach, Kathie Klages.
Boyce doesn’t remember the name of the female coach who approached her. But she still remembers the green carpet in Klages’ office and telling her Nassar had been “fingering” her during visits.
“She just couldn’t believe that was happening,” said Boyce, now 37. “She said I must be misunderstanding what was going on.”
Klages, who was MSU women’s gymnastics coach for 27 seasons, brought several of Boyce’s fellow youth program gymnasts into her office and asked them if Nassar did the same to them.
One of them said he had. That woman, who spoke to The News on condition of anonymity, was 14 then, and remembers knowing before the meeting they would be talking about Nassar.
“I remember feeling — finally a female would be an advocate for me, and tell my dad and my mom and I won’t have to tell them about this awkward thing,” said the woman, now 35, who has filed a civil lawsuit against Nassar and MSU. “Finally we’re going to get help, something will change and we won’t have to go back to him. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, I felt very shamed.”
Boyce also felt intimidated and humiliated, and remembers what Klages said about filing a report.
“She said, ‘I can file this, but there are going to be serious consequences for you and Nassar,’” Boyce said. “I said I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
Klages, who retired in February after victims came forward through lawsuits, declined to be interviewed regarding the incident or whether she told anyone else about the girls’ complaints. The response came through her attorney, Steven Stapleton of Grand Rapids.
Klages didn’t tell Boyce’s parents, but she did tell Nassar, Boyce said.
“Had I known she was such good friends with him, I would not have said anything,” Boyce said.
‘New way of treating’
Two years later, runner Christie Achenbach sounded an alarm when she told her coach about Nassar’s conduct in 1999.
Achenbach, a track and cross country athlete, had hurt her right hamstring and seen 15 other medical specialists before MSU athletic center staff referred her to Nassar.
During her appointment, Nassar told her that he was going to do something different for her pain, she said in an interview.
“He said his new way of treating people was going internally and manipulating the pelvic floor in order to help with any problem a female might have,” said Achenbach, then 21. “He said he had to go in, but he didn’t tell me that the way he was going to go in was not using lubricant like a doctor would. He just kept rubbing back and forth — that’s when I knew something was going on ... Then he put his fingers up inside me.”
Immediately afterward, Achenbach called her parents. She then said she called her coach, Kelli Bert, and told her that Nassar had rubbed her and inserted his fingers inside her, Achenbach said in an interview.
“He’s an Olympic doctor and he should know what he is doing,” Achenbach, now 40, said Bert told her.
Bert, who worked for MSU for one year as an assistant coach, told The News she doesn’t remember Achenbach complaining about Nassar. She also said she didn’t know Nassar was an Olympic doctor.
“I don’t recall any of that,” said Bert. “If he had done something sexual, I believe I would have reported that immediately.”
Bert said she learned of Nassar’s assaults from media reports and said no one told her that he was “doing something disgusting like that.”
Crying, Bert said she was upset that someone had to go through that.
“If someone had said something about being assaulted, I would never brush it aside,” she said. “To me, that is every woman’s nightmare.”
‘No way, that’s not right’
In 2000, another victim spoke up, this time to an athletic trainer. Tiffany Thomas Lopez had moved to East Lansing from southern California to play softball for the Spartans.
Soon after, Thomas Lopez developed low back pain and she was referred to Nassar, who told her he would manipulate the pelvic floor area.
During the early treatments, Nassar briefly would slip his thumb inside her. But in later visits, he put his fingers inside her and moved them around, sometimes for 15 minutes, she said. She started to question it to her trainers and often made up excuses not to go.
While away at a softball tournament, Thomas Lopez was in the hotel room of her team trainer, Lianna Hadden, who was working with her because she was in so much pain. Thomas Lopez demonstrated to the trainer what Nassar would do to her to relieve her pain.
“She gasped,” said Thomas Lopez, now 37. “She said, ‘No way, that’s not right.’”
Hadden, who remains an MSU athletic trainer working with the volleyball team, declined to comment to The News.
Thomas Lopez said Hadden told her she needed to tell Destiny Teachnor-Hauk, an athletic trainer at MSU.
Thomas Lopez recalls talking to Teachnor-Hauk after the tournament while sitting on the bleachers in MSU’s Jenison Field House.
“I was told if I felt extremely uncomfortable then of course we could pursue something but I was assured this was actual medical treatment,” said Thomas Lopez. “If I decided to pursue something, it was going to cast a burden over my family. She said it was going cause a lot of heartache, it was going to cause a lot of trauma and why would I want drag him through this?”
During testimony Tuesday at Nassar’s sentencing, a second woman — Jennifer Rood Bedford — testified that about two years after Thomas Lopez, she told Hadden that Nassar had made her uncomfortable.
“I was so scared of revealing what I thought were shameful details that I didn’t give her much to go on,” Rood Bedford said. “In the end, she wanted me to understand that filing a report, it would involve an investigation, making an accusation against Nassar and statement that I felt that what Nassar did was unprofessional or criminally wrong.”
Rood Bedford said she couldn’t say that with certainty.
For Thomas Lopez, who learned of Rood Bedford’s testimony from a reporter, it was a second betrayal.
Fourteen years after Thomas Lopez said she told Teachnor-Hauk about Nassar, Teachnor-Hauk was interviewed during a Title IX investigation into Nassar’s conduct headed by Kristine Moore, then assistant director of the Institutional Equity Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives.
“Ms. Teachnor-Hauk states that she has never had a complaint about Dr. Nassar in 17 years and has no concern about him crossing the line between medically appropriate and inappropriate,” the report says.
Three years later, according to a March 2017 police report, Teachnor-Hauk told two MSU police officers and an FBI agent she “never had an athlete tell her that Nassar made them uncomfortable.”
Thomas Lopez was audibly distraught after being told by a reporter of Teachnor-Hauk’s statements in the Title IX and police reports.
She began sobbing. “That is not my truth,” Thomas Lopez said. “My life has been turned upside down because she decided not to tell my truth.”
Teachnor-Hauk did not respond to requests for comment for this story. She remains an athletic trainer in charge of MSU women’s gymnastics and supervises training for the varsity and novice rowing teams, as well as the Jenison training room.
Family friend an accuser
Nassar’s victims were not limited to his work as a physician. A family friend of Nassar testified last year that she told MSU clinical psychologist Dr. Gary Stollak about the doctor’s abuse in the mid-2000s.
Kyle Stephens, the first to publicly testify against Nassar last year, said he began molesting her in 1998 by exposing himself in the basement of his home. She was 6.
Over six years, Nassar touched himself in front of her, massaged her feet against his groin and inserted his fingers inside her, Stephens testified in a preliminary examination for Nassar in an Ingham County district court.
She repeated her testimony at Nassar’s sentencing hearing Tuesday.
After Stephens told her parents in 2004, when she was in the sixth grade, they took her to see Stollak, Stephens said in an interview.
Stollak suggested her parents meet with him and Nassar. During the meeting, Nassar denied using her feet to stimulate himself, and her parents believed him, said Stephens, who did not attend.
Nassar came to her house that day and told her that if anything like that ever happened to her, she needed to tell someone.
“Larry is a very sick man who is very devoted to putting himself in a position to feed his pedophilia,” said Stephens, now 25. “I wasn’t anything but an object or a catalyst to make that happen.”
Reached at his home, Stollak, who retired in 2010, repeated to The News what he testified in court last year.
“I had a stroke in 2016 and I said with my right hand raised, I have no memories of any encounters with any of the people related to the case,” said Stollak.
Stephens said Stollak didn’t try hard enough to find out what Nassar did and should have reported her allegations against the doctor to authorities.
“Dr. Stollak did a pretty pathetic job of trying to uncover the truth,” she said. “There should have been mandatory reporting. He was in a profession where he should have done that.”
A 1975 Michigan law requires certain professionals to report suspicions of child abuse to Children’s Protective Services including school administrators, teachers, psychologists and law enforcement officers.
‘Police ... just took his word’
Brianne Randall-Gay went to local police in spring 2004 after leaving her second visit with Nassar for back pain. He had touched her bare breast and put his hand between her legs, she said.
Randall-Gay, then a 16-year-old soccer and tennis player, told friends at her high school in Haslett, near Lansing, about the visit. Then she went home and told her mother. That evening, Randall-Gay went to the Meridian Township Police Department, where officers sent her to Sparrow Hospital for a rape kit.
A few weeks later, police asked Randall-Gay and her parents to meet with Nassar.
Randall-Gay didn’t want to go, so her parents went without her. Afterward, they told her Nassar and the police said what she experienced was a legitimate treatment.
Randall-Gay’s father is deceased and her mother couldn’t be reached for comment.
“Larry said it was a misunderstanding because I was not a gymnast and not as comfortable with my body and that was where the misunderstanding was,” said Randall-Gay, now 30. “The police ... just took his word.”
Randall-Gay, who publicly revealed her identity during Nassar’s sentencing hearing and in an interview with The Detroit News, said she did not know if Meridian Township police contacted MSU about her complaint.
Assistant Police Chief Ken Plaga said the department did not alert Michigan State University and never forwarded her report to the Ingham County prosecutor. He declined to elaborate.
Plaga said the department is withholding the release of Randall-Gay’s police report, which The News requested, at the direction of the Attorney General’s office until sentencing of Nassar is finished.
Randall-Gay said she wishes police had told officials at MSU. She believes someone at MSU should be held accountable for Nassar’s actions.
“It’s really hard to see an institution that I look up to not take ownership for its mistakes of allowing a predator to continue to abuse for so long,” Randall-Gay said. “They should be ashamed.”
Complaints reach Simon
A decade later, another woman took a step to alert MSU about Nassar in a report that came to the attention of MSU’s president.
In April 2014, MSU alum Amanda Thomashow told Dr. Jeff Kovan, of the MSU Sports Medicine Clinic, about possible sexual misconduct while on a March 24 visit to Nassar’s office for treatment of hip pain.
Kovan reported the incident to the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, then the office that investigated sexual misconduct complaints under Title IX laws that bar discrimination on the basis of sex. The accuser also reported the abuse to the MSU police department in May 2014.
Kovan declined a request for comment through Laura Probyn, a spokeswoman for the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Notice of both complaints reached Simon. The MSU president declined to be interviewed for this story, although she briefly answered questions Wednesday in a break during Nassar’s sentencing hearing indicating she knew very little about the investigation.
Moore, the office’s assistant director and now MSU’s assistant general counsel, investigated for the university.
Thomashow — who had kept her identity concealed until this week — told the investigator Nassar worked on her shoulder and massaged her breast “like your boyfriend would while you were making out with him,” according to the report.
She tried to stop him, but Nassar continued, massaging her over the top of her clothes and then moving his hands underneath her sweat pants.
“He began to massage her with three fingers in a circular motion in her vaginal area,” according to the Title IX report. “She states that he was extremely close to inserting a finger into her.”
The report includes interviews with the victim’s mother and three of her friends, plus Nassar and three MSU medical manipulation specialists — Dr. Brooke Lemmen, Dr. Lisa DeStefano and Dr. Jennifer Gilmore — plus Teachnor-Hauk, the MSU athletic trainer. All told investigators that Nassar’s behavior was medically appropriate, according to the report.
All three doctors also said they don’t do skin-to-skin contact, even though it makes it easier to feel for soft tissue changes.
“She does it over clothes because, as a woman, she is sensitive to the fact that skin-to-skin contact may be uncomfortable for some,” according to the report’s summary of the interview with DeStefano, chairwoman and associate professor in the Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine.
The Title IX complaint concluded that Nassar’s conduct was not of a sexual nature.
There is not a consistent level at which MSU administrators are alerted of the disposition of Title IX complaints, Cody told The News.
“It all depends on the circumstances involved in each specific case,” he said in an email. “There is no blanket answer.”
Cody said Simon did not receive additional information about the inquiry or its outcome.
“As there was no finding of a policy violation, there was no further briefing,” he said. “There typically wouldn’t be.”
Probyn said DeStefano and Gilmore, an assistant professor, declined to comment.
Lemmen resigned in January 2017 after being threatened with termination, MSU documents show. According to the records, Nassar had told Lemmen USA Gymnastics was investigating him, but she told no one. She removed several boxes of confidential treatment records at Nassar’s request after allegations emerged about him but returned the records before giving them to Nassar, the MSU documents show.
Aaron Kemp, an attorney for Lemmen, said she would not comment.
Moore notified Nassar’s boss, Dr. William Strampel, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, about the complaint. At Strampel’s direction, Nassar agreed to have another person in the room when treating patients and to limit skin-to-skin contact, according to emails obtained by The News.
Strampel recently stepped down from his position and is on medical leave. He did not respond to requests for comment.
A year after the complaint, MSU police forwarded the report to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, which declined to file charges against Nassar. The prosecutor at the time, Stuart Dunnings III, could not be reached for comment.
MSU Detective Kelly Johnson spoke with Nassar in December 2015 and told him the prosecutor was not pressing charges, but reminded him to have a chaperone in the room and to explain his procedures, according to an MSU police report.
That same report showed that after July 2014, when Nassar was cleared in the Title IX investigation, at least 12 assaults occurred. Thomashow, who filed the complaint, said she suspects the number is far higher.
“It makes me sad my word wasn’t enough to protect them,” Thomashow told The News. “I am really frustrated that MSU did not stop him when I gave them information. It’s time for MSU to be held accountable for what happened. They need to admit they were wrong.”
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Man charged in death
Grand Rapids Press, The (MI)
June 7, 2006
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
MASON -- A 72-year-old physician was charged with killing his wife, whose death 38 years ago had been thought to be caused by polio.
Charles William Mercer, who works at Ingham Regional Medical Center, was arrested in his home Monday and charged with open murder. Chris Bergstrom, an attorney for Charles Mercer, declined comment.
Sally Sue Mercer died Feb. 27, 1968, at the couple's Okemos home. At the time, a pathologist ruled she died from bulbar polio.
Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth said improvements in forensic science and "old-fashioned detective work" led to the doctor's arrest.
The sheriff said authorities long suspected foul play and reopened the case in 1995. In 2001, Sally Mercer's death certificate was changed to say she was the victim of a homicide. A second autopsy in August 2003 showed the death was not caused by polio.
Okemos woman died violent death in 1968, pathologist testifies
Medical experts in case of doctor charged with killing his wife cite signs of struggle and overdose
Detroit News
June 14, 2006
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
New issues have come to light in the case of an Okemos doctor charged last week with killing his wife in 1968.
According to transcripts of court testimony presented June 5 and unsealed Tuesday, Sally Sue Mercer sent a handwritten letter to a friend indicating that she believed her husband, Dr. Charles William Mercer, would kill her and asked her friend to give the letter to police if she were found dead.
Also in transcripts revealed Tuesday, Ingham County Sheriff's Detective Jason Ferguson said that Grand Rapids forensic pathologist Stephen Cohle reviewed Sally Mercer's death certificate and told investigators the document was inaccurate, citing evidence she died violently.
Sally Mercer died Feb. 27, 1968, at the couple's Okemos home. A pathologist originally ruled that she died from polio, but a subsequent autopsy in 2003 found that the cause wasn't polio, Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth said.
Wriggelsworth declined to say what the cause of death was or what led to Mercer's arrest. But he said authorities long suspected foul play and reopened the case in 1995. Pathologists have concluded Sally Mercer died from a massive dose of a painkiller and her body showed signs of a struggle.
Charles Mercer, 72, of Okemos was charged with murder June 5 in her death. He is being held on $2 million bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26.
Lethal levels of the painkiller propoxyphene were found in Sally Mercer's tissue samples during examinations by Robert Middleberg of the National Medical Services Lab in Philadelphia, Ferguson said in testimony transcripts.
Attorney Chris Bergstrom, reached at his law office Tuesday evening, said his client, who practices at Ingham Regional Medical Center in Lansing, is innocent and that "the rest of the story will come out in the courtroom."
Bergstrom filed a motion last week in 55th District Court in Mason containing correspondence from 1968 between a prosecutor and an attorney discussing doctors' findings that Sally Mercer and two other women -- Barbara VanGilder, 38, and Patricia Shepardson, 26 -- had died from a viral infection during a three-month period in Ingham and Eaton counties. Bergstrom said the prosecutor's office either destroyed or lost the files on the case.
Assistant Prosecutor Eric Matwiejczyk, citing the judge's wishes to limit discussion of the case outside of court, declined to comment.
Charges dropped against Garfield
Oakland Press, The (Pontiac, MI)
August 15, 2007
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
Drunken driving charges against state Rep. John Garfield, R-Rochester Hills, have been dismissed.
A clerk with the district court in East Lansing said the prosecutor filed for a dismissal Friday because "the prosecution cannot bear its burden of proof."
"I just found out yesterday," Garfield said Tuesday. "I'm unaware of what occurred between the prosecutor and the court and my attorney, but I'm gratified to just move on and do the rest of my job while I'm here. "My focus is on my work," he said. Garfield, 57, was arrested in East Lansing in March by Michigan State University campus police.
A former county commissioner, Garfield is in his third two-year term in the state House. He cannot run for the House again because of term limits.
Garfield had previously been arrested on a drunken driving charge in 2005 and later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired.
His jury trial on the latest charge was expected to begin soon.
"I appreciate (Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart) Dunnings' due diligence," Garfield said. "I appreciate the court's candor and allowing me quiet time without the press there."
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's office to prosecute Wixom-area shooting suspect
Oakland Press, The (Pontiac, MI)
November 27, 2012
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has taken over prosecution of charges against Raulie Wayne Casteel, the man suspected of carrying out several random shootings, in three mid-Michigan counties.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, however, has opted out of the grouping, and its attorneys will handle the 60 charges it brought against the 43-year-old Wixom man.
One man, Kalamazoo resident Scott Arnold, was shot in the hip through his car while he was driving to a World Series game. He was the only person hurt during the week and a half of shootings.
The shootings began Oct. 16 and continued seemingly at random until Oct. 27.
Casteel has been charged and arraigned in Livingston County with six counts related to a shooting incident on I-96 in Howell. The felony charges include: assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm with unlawful intent and discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle.
Cooper’s office wrote 60 counts in nine of 13 incidents in Oakland County.
The most severe charge against the married father in Oakland County was assault with intent to murder.
“Already, local, state and federal authorities have come together to protect the public, and this prosecution is a continuation of that cooperation,” said Schuette in a prepared statement Tuesday. “I look forward to working with my colleagues from Ingham, Livingston, and Shiawassee counties to bring these cases to a close.”
Some have asked why Oakland County decided to pursue its cases on its own.
“We were a part of the task force and we handled most of the search warrants,” said Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper. Continued...
The task force created to investigate 24 shooting incidents along the I-96 corridor through four counties brought in the FBI, the ATF and as many as seven other agencies during its investigation.
The task force headquarters were located in Wixom, where 10 incidents were first reported.
“We’re just a little further we’re advanced in the case because we were in on it from the beginning,” Cooper said.
The assignment of the case to the attorney general came at the request of prosecutors in Ingham, Shiawassee and Livingston counties.
“These alleged crimes spanned multiple jurisdictions over several counties,” said Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III in a prepared release from the Attorney General’s Office. “Given the nature of the allegations, we believe the attorney general can best prosecute this matter.”
The Ingham County official said the main reasons for the consolidation are efficiency, economy and clarity of presentation to a jury.
Cooper thinks otherwise.
“It would not save time or trouble because, to the best of my knowledge, the attorney general has not yet initiated charges,” she said.
She said venue is also important. A specific location in which to try these charges has to be established.
“There are no turf wars and no issue here,” added Cooper. “They have right to ask for help and attorney general has right to grant that,” Continued...
Dunnings said that he thinks the case would be best served in one presentation.
Casteel is currently in the Oakland County Jail and will soon be sent to the state’s forensic center for competency tests which will determine whether he is mentally fit enough to be able to stand trial.
He has 90 days from his last court date — Nov. 13 — to complete these tests.
The paperwork has already been completed, said Cooper, but the exact date Casteel will be tested is unknown.
He remains jailed on $2 million bond in Oakland and Livingston Counties.
MSU: Nassar internal probe report doesn't exist
Detroit News
December 08, 2017
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/12/08/msu-larry-nassar-investigation/108437686/
Lansing — Michigan State University cannot release an “investigative report” on an internal probe into its handling of criminal activity by former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar because no such document exists, according to an attorney representing the school.
Former federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who led the internal probe, defended MSU on Wednesday in a letter to Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who had asked the university release the “Fitzgerald findings” to external law enforcement agencies.
But the university cannot produce an investigate report demanded by victim attorneys because “there is no investigative report,” Fitzgerald told Schuette as calls mount for an independent investigation of the school.
Fitzgerald said his law firm and another were retained by MSU, in part, “to review the underlying facts and disclose any evidence that others knowingly assisted or concealed” Nassar’s criminal conduct.
“Had we found such conduct, we would have reported such evidence to law enforcement promptly. And much as there is no ‘investigative report,’ there is no document that constitutes ‘Fitzgerald findings.’ ”
In February, Brian Breslin, chairman of MSU’s Board of Trustees, said the university was going to do an independent investigation, said California-based attorney John Manly, who represents 106 victims in a civil lawsuit against Nassar, MSU, USA Gymnastics, Gedderts’ Twistars USA Gymnastics Club and in some cases the U.S. Olympic Committee.
“Any credible investigation ends in a report, otherwise there is no investigation,” Manly said. “What has happened here is MSU has hired a very good defense lawyer, which they are entitled to do. Apparently the strategy that they have asked him to employ is to close the gate and bar the door on information about what the university knew and what they knew about Larry Nassar.”
A spokesman for the university could not be reached for comment on Friday.
But Fitzgerald offered to brief the attorney general or his staff on the internal review and how it relates to ongoing law enforcement investigations.
Schuette’s office released the MSU correspondence Friday as athlete victims and politicians continue to question Michigan State’s response to initial allegations against Nassar, who was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in prison for possessing 37,000 images of child pornography.
The former MSU and USA Gymanstics doctor is accused of sexually assaulting more than 100 girls and young women and will be sentenced on two other first-degree criminal sexual conduct case convictions in January.
Schuette has not said whether his office will launch an independent probe of MSU. The attorney general wrote University President Lou Anna K. Simon on Monday, urging release of any internal findings. Simon said the university is ready and willing to cooperate with any law enforcement request. She asked Fitzgerald to respond to Schuette.
Victims of Nassar have called on MSU to release what they called a $1 million taxpayer-funded report on an internal review of the Nassar scandal, saying MSU’s secret report contrasts with Penn State University’s response to the scandal surrounding Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted of sexually abusing boys.
In his letter to Schuette, Fitzgerald sought to distinguish the Nassar and Sandusky cases.
“In the Penn State matter, it appears that high-ranking officials were aware of sexual abuse by an employee, decided to report the abuse to law enforcement, and then changed their mind and did not report the abuse,” Fitzgerald wrote.
“… In the MSU matter, we believe the evidence will show that no MSU official believed that Nassar committed sexual abuse prior to newspaper reports in late summer 2016.”
Nassar “fooled everyone” around him, including colleagues, Fitzgerald added.
“While many in the community today wish that they had identified Nassar as a predator, we believe the evidence in this case will show that no one else at MSU knew that Nassar engaged in criminal behavior.”
But Rachael Denhollander — who became the first victim authorities believed in August 2016 — said she was disappointed to see MSU officials repeat their claims that no one knew anything during the time frame that Nassar was abusing children at MSU.
“As if illegal activity is the only way to enable an abuser,” said Denhollander, 33. “The questions about what happened at MSU extend far beyond potential illegal activity, and MSU blatantly refuses to acknowledge this.”
While MSU officials assert that everyone who had reports of Nassar’s misconduct believed he was not committing sexual assault, Denhollander said had the university handled disclosures of Nassar’s abuse properly, those in authority would have discovered and stopped him.
“MSU officials had multiple reports that Larry was penetrating young girls as far back as 1997,” Denhollander said. “No one took these reports seriously. No one listened. No one investigated. Victims were blamed, made to feel crazy, threatened, and sent back to Larry for treatment. To continually repeat that no illegal activity took place and ignore the gross mishandling of repeated allegations of abuse is nothing more than a red herring and an attempt to hide the real issues.”
While the 10 charges of first-degree criminal sexual assault Nassar admitted to involve nine young women, nearly 150 young women have come forward since Denhollander, alleging that he sexually assaulted them through digital penetration during medical visits over two decades.
Former Ingham County Prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer, whose office processed warrant requests as Nassar accusers came forward in 2016, on Friday joined calls for Schuette and the Michigan State Police to launch an internal investigation of MSU.
Whitmer is a Democratic candidate for governor. Schuette, a Republican, is also running for governor. Pat Miles, a Democrat running for attorney general, has also called for an independent investigation.
“When you have an agency that is investigating itself, it is an inherent conflict of interest,” Whitmer said. “We’ve got MSU investigating itself here. It’s unacceptable.”
Fitzgerald, in his letter to Schuette, noted there was an FBI investigation as he criticized plaintiff attorneys also calling for an independent investigation.
Fitzgerald also sent copies of the letter to Michigan State Police director Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, FBI special agent David Gelios and U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge.
Schuette’s office said Friday it is reviewing the response to its request to release internal probe findings “to determine our next steps.”
Whitmer, a former state Senate Minority Leader, served as interim Ingham County prosecutor for six months in 2016 after former Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings resigned over prostitution charges.
Asked why she did not investigate MSU during her tenure as prosecutor, Whitmer said the “first phase” was to make sure the criminal investigation of Nassar moved forward.
Her office did not lead the Nassar prosecution, she said, because it “quickly became apparent that the alleged criminal activity was not just state-based nor just Ingham County-based.”
Instead, Schuette’s office prosecuted Nassar for state-level crimes and the U.S. Attorney’s Office led the child pornography case.
“It’s time to do right by the victims, and to have a clear, transparent, and independent investigation” of Michigan State, she said.
Prosecutors, cops split on Nassar charges
Detroit News
December 14, 2017
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/13/whitmer-msu-schuette-nassar-prosecution/108586616/
Lansing — Former interim Ingham County Prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer and a top assistant are denying a police chief’s claim that their office initially hesitated to prosecute Dr. Larry Nassar on allegations of sexual misconduct.
Michigan State University Police Chief Jim Dunlap told The Detroit News that Whitmer wanted to charge Nassar in a child pornography case that she thought would be “relatively easy to convict on” but said the assault allegations could be “much more difficult to take to trial,” a characterization Whitmer called “patently false.”
Their respective roles in the blockbuster Nassar cases could become a campaign issue for Whitmer and Attorney General Bill Schuette, among the most prominent candidates for Michigan’s Democratic and Republican gubernatorial nominations in 2018. Dunlap took the assault cases to Schuette hours after a fall 2016 meeting with Whitmer and staff.
“She told us in a meeting that her decision was to move forward on the child sexually abusive material and not the criminal sexual assaults,” said Dunlap. “The big issue is we wanted to move forward on the (assault) cases and not settle for the (pornography) case.”
Whitmer and another top county attorney say Dunlap never brought them police reports that would have allowed her office to decide whether to prosecute the assault cases. They claim MSU police took the cases to Schuette because initial allegations originated in multiple counties — Ingham and Eaton — making his state-level office best suited to lead the prosecution, a point Schuette himself noted when he agreed to review them.
“That was the only issue,” Whitmer said. “My office was ready to move forward on any and all alleged crimes. The MSU police department ultimately took the charges to the Attorney General’s and U.S. Attorney’s offices because of jurisdiction.”
Lisa McCormick, who remains chief assistant prosecutor in Ingham County, agreed that jurisdiction was the main factor in the prosecution and said MSU police never provided enough information for the office to press charges in the assault cases.
“We needed to review all the police reports and evidence before we could give a decision,” McCormick said.
The initial sexual misconduct complaints — five or six at the time, according to Dunlap — became part of a larger case prosecuted by Schuette’s office that resulted in plea deals with the former MSU and USA Gymnastics doctor who has now admitted assaulting at least 10 women under the guise of medical treatment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in west Michigan prosecuted Nassar on child pornography charges that, under tougher federal penalties, resulted in a 60-year prison sentence last week.
While experts agree the attorney general’s office was the logical choice to prosecute Nassar for assault, Dunlap and Whitmer offer differing accounts of how that decision was reached. Investigators and county prosecutors met to discuss the matter Oct. 4, 2016, and Dunlap contacted Schuette that evening.
At the meeting, Whitmer said she wanted to prosecute Nassar for a trove of child pornography police discovered through a search warrant approved by her office, Dunlap said. He preferred that the pornography case go to the U.S. Attorney’s Office because of stiffer federal penalties.
“It was pretty well established by our office at the front end that the priority was getting the criminal sexual assault (cases) charged so that everyone that came forward as a victim would have the ability to pursue their case,” Dunlap said. “It wasn’t going to happen if we only charged the (child pornography) case and sent him to prison for a brief period of time.”
Nassar was sentenced in U.S. District Court last week for possessing 37,000 images of child pornography. He has pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct covering nine victims in separate Ingham and Eaton county court cases handled by Schuette’s office.
Whitmer, a former state Senate minority leader, served as interim Ingham County prosecutor for six months in 2016 after former Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings resigned over prostitution charges. The Nassar case exploded in August 2016 when Rachael Denhollander publicly claimed the doctor abused her.
Whitmer and others are now calling on Schuette to launch an independent investigation of MSU, questioning what university officials knew about Nassar and when they knew it. She said this week she felt her office did everything it could to help put him behind bars.
Meeting’s aftermath
McCormick, who joined Whitmer and others from her office in the Oct. 4 meeting with Dunlap, called the police chief’s characterizations “not accurate.”
It was already clear the U.S. Attorney’s Office would handle the child pornography case, she said, telling The News a federal investigator was also at the meeting.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge declined to comment on any investigative aspect of the case.
Emails first obtained by Gongwer subscription news service through a Freedom of Information Act request show that Dunlap reached out to Schuette’s office hours after his meeting with the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Bill-thanks for taking my call today and agreeing on sending your team out so quickly to discuss,” Dunlap wrote. “These cases have captured the public and these victims/survivors deserve a review. I am hopeful they will now get an advocate.”
Schuette responded about an hour later: “I am your advocate. Look forward to working with you.”
Separate correspondence provided by the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office shows that Whitmer emailed Dunlap on Oct. 5, the day after their meeting, and said her team remained “eager to read any and all police reports you send our way.”
Whitmer noted Dunlap’s “desire to make an arrest as soon as possible” but suggested there were “many complicated legal and strategic decisions” to consider because the U.S. Attorney’s Office became involved.
“I believe we share the dual goals of protecting the victim and ensuring we are successful in getting the maximum penalty for the defendant,” Whitmer told Dunlap in an email McCormick sent on her behalf.
Dunlap agreed on the common goal and, in an Oct. 6 email, told Whitmer he had already met with Schuette’s office that morning. They discussed “the issues of continuity and multiple jurisdictions,” he said.
“They felt and I agreed that given the issues of multiple venues and the fact that we were asked to take the lead on other cases, the best decision would be for their office to handle the review of these cases,” Dunlap wrote. “It is our intent to have the federal issues remain with the U.S. Attorney.”
Dunlap thanked Whitmer and her office for their “professionalism,” telling her it “has not gone unnoticed.”
Schuette’s office issued a statement the same day announcing it would review the sexual assault cases for potential criminal charges, saying that the multiple jurisdiction issues put it “in the best position to effectively investigate and prosecute this case.”
The News was unable to reach two other Ingham County attorneys who were in the meeting with Dunlap, criminal sexual conduct case supervisor Nicole Matusko and assistant prosecuting attorney Bill Crino.
Satisfying result
Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd said Schuette’s office approached him after reviewing the Nassar cases. He agreed state attorneys were better suited to lead the prosecution because the cases crossed county lines.
Lloyd, a Republican, said he has no reason to believe Whitmer or her office did anything to slow the Nassar prosecution. Having the attorney general’s office handle cases in both counties provided victims a single point of contact, he said.
“What we want to see as prosecutors is justice, not only for the defendants, but for the victims as well,” he said.
Wayne State University Law Professor Peter Henning said strategy disagreements between police and prosecutors are not unusual in unique cases like Nassar’s.
“Typically we see police investigate and prosecutors take over — the ‘Law and Order’ episode divided into half-hour segments — but not in this kind of case,” Henning said. “The prosecutor’s office has to be involved very early.”
Nearly 150 young women have come forward since Denhollander, alleging that Nassar sexually assaulted them over the course of two decades, using a form of digital penetration that he portrayed to them as medical treatment.
Prosecuting Nassar, who was well-respected in the community, was ultimately “the kind of case the Attorney General’s Office should take on,” Henning said.
While Nassar had been accused by a handful of victims at the time, “I think everybody realized, probably pretty early on, that this was going to be a multi-victim case,” he said. “That’s where the attorney general can reach into any county in the state, not just Ingham and Eaton.”
Despite the conflicting accounts of their 2016 meeting, both Whitmer and Dunlap said they are pleased with the outcome.
“In retrospect, we know the system worked the way it was supposed to, because they were able to consolidate many of the pieces,” Whitmer said. “We’re at the point where (Nassar) is going to be doing a lot of time (in prison) based on his activity because they were able to consolidate cases under one prosecutor, and that’s the attorney general.”
Dunlap said working with the attorney general and U.S. attorney “seemed the most advantageous for the victims, and I think that turned out to be the best choice.”
While he acknowledged jurisdiction was an issue, Dunlap said it was “not insurmountable” because all but one of the initial cases his department investigated and discussed with Whitmer were based in Ingham County. The other was based in Eaton County.
Whitmer’s office had already approved several warrants for the MSU police probe, including one that allowed investigators to discover a trove of child pornography on hard drives from a trash bag at the end of Nassar’s drive way.
“I had my whole team ready to move forward if and when MSU brought us police reports,” Whitmer said of the assault cases. “They just never did because of the determination on jurisdiction.”
What MSU knew: 14 were warned of Nassar abuse
Detroit News
January 19, 2018
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/tech/2018/01/18/msu-president-told-nassar-complaint-2014/1042071001/
Reports of sexual misconduct by Dr. Larry Nassar reached at least 14 Michigan State University representatives in the two decades before his arrest, with no fewer than eight women reporting his actions, a Detroit News investigation has found.
Among those notified was MSU President Lou Anna Simon, who was informed in 2014 that a Title IX complaint and a police report had been filed against an unnamed physician, she told The News on Wednesday.
“I was informed that a sports medicine doctor was under investigation,” said Simon, who made the brief comments after appearing in court Wednesday to observe a sentencing hearing for Nassar. “I told people to play it straight up, and I did not receive a copy of the report. That’s the truth.”
Among the others who were aware of alleged abuse were athletic trainers, assistant coaches, a university police detective and an official who is now MSU’s assistant general counsel, according to university records and accounts of victims who spoke to The News.
Collectively, the accounts show MSU missed multiple opportunities over two decades to stop Nassar, a graduate of its osteopathic medical school who became a renowned doctor but went on to molest scores of girls and women under the guise of treating them for pain.
Nassar, 54, pleaded guilty to assaulting nine girls in Ingham County but faces more than 150 civil suits that also involve MSU and others. Already sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography in federal court, Nassar will be in Ingham County Circuit Court on Thursday for the third day of his sentencing hearing for seven counts of criminal sexual conduct.
Asked about the women who said they tried to alert MSU to Nassar’s misconduct, Simon declined to comment.
“Those issues are points of dispute and part of civil litigation and I am not going to comment on,” she said. “What I can tell you is what I knew, straight up. My standard response is to tell people to play things straight up and I did not receive a copy of the report.”
Nassar’s case has drawn comparisons to that of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach who was found guilty in 2012 of molesting boys on campus. Three university officials, including president Graham Spanier, were sentenced to prison for failing to report Sandusky to authorities.
Former gymnast Rachael Denhollander, who in September 2016 became the first to publicly accuse Nassar of molesting her, says MSU officials should be held accountable for Nassar’s crimes.
“A monster was stopped last year, after decades of being allowed to prey on women and little girls, and he wasn’t stopped by a single person who could have, and should have stopped him at least 20 years ago,” Denhollander told The News last week. “He was stopped by the victims, who had to fight through being silenced, being threatened, being mocked, by the officials at MSU who they appealed to for help.
“And now the very people who should have been protecting us all along ... have thumbed their nose at any semblance of accountability.”
Two candidates for statewide office have called for Simon’s resignation, despite claims that the university’s legal defense team found no evidence that anyone other than Nassar knew of his criminal conduct.
In a response to a request for information from Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, former federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who led an internal MSU inquiry into the Nassar case, wrote: “While many in the community today wish that they had identified Nassar as a predator, we believe the evidence in this case will show that no one else at MSU knew that Nassar engaged in criminal behavior.”
Six women with ties to the university, however, each told The News that they complained to at least one person at MSU when they believed Nassar’s conduct crossed from medical to sexual, and a seventh woman outlined her report to MSU during sentencing. The eighth woman complained to the Meridian Township Police.
Andrea Bitely, a spokeswoman for Schuette, declined to comment on whether his office is investigating who knew what at MSU.
MSU spokesman Jason Cody said the school responded vigorously once Nassar’s crimes came to light in 2016. He said campus police took 135 reports of criminal sexual conduct and executed a search warrant that contributed to Nassar’s convictions. MSU also established a $10 million counseling fund last month.
He said it was “not appropriate” to compare the Nassar case with that of Penn State, where leaders discussed “and illegally ignored” allegations against Sandusky.
“We want to reiterate again that we are truly sorry for the abuse Nassar’s victims suffered, the pain it caused and the pain it continues to cause,” he said. “As the president said at the December board meeting, this situation also reinforces the importance of taking a hard look at ourselves and learning from what happened — because it should never happen again.”
When the complaints began
Nassar was a respected osteopathic sports doctor at MSU and USA Gymnastics who treated some of the nation’s most prominent Olympic athletes. Coaches and others referred competitors to him for pain relief that many understood to involve osteopathic manipulation near the breasts and vagina.
But Nassar admitted to sexually assaulting young women during treatment by touching their breasts or buttocks or inserting his fingers inside them for his own gratification without gloves or lubricant.
Some victims testified he assaulted them while their parents were present while others said he showed signs of sexual arousal during exams.
One of the more than 150 civil lawsuits filed against Nassar, MSU and others alleges his earliest known assault was in 1992 as he was earning his osteopathic medical degree at MSU.
The victim, who is not named in court records, said Nassar assaulted her when she was 12 to 14. He asked her to his apartment for a study on manipulation treatments and paid her with a full body massage, during which he digitally penetrated her vaginally and anally, according to filings in the suit.
That victim did not alert anyone at MSU, according to her attorney, Okemos-based Mick Grewal.
When a similar thing happened to her, Larissa Boyce did.
Boyce — the first person who is believed to have told someone at MSU about Nassar — reported him in 1997, almost 20 years before he was fired and prosecuted.
A 16-year-old high school student in Williamston, east of Lansing, Boyce began seeing Nassar after hurting her back in a youth gymnastics program at MSU.
Nassar put his fingers inside Boyce during weekly visits with him at his university office, and in a room near where the gymnasts practiced at Jenison Field House.
After a long appointment with Nassar at Jenison, a coach asked Boyce what was happening during that time. Boyce told the coach, who insisted that Boyce tell MSU’s then-head gymnastics coach, Kathie Klages.
Boyce doesn’t remember the name of the female coach who approached her. But she still remembers the green carpet in Klages’ office and telling her Nassar had been “fingering” her during visits.
“She just couldn’t believe that was happening,” said Boyce, now 37. “She said I must be misunderstanding what was going on.”
Klages, who was MSU women’s gymnastics coach for 27 seasons, brought several of Boyce’s fellow youth program gymnasts into her office and asked them if Nassar did the same to them.
One of them said he had. That woman, who spoke to The News on condition of anonymity, was 14 then, and remembers knowing before the meeting they would be talking about Nassar.
“I remember feeling — finally a female would be an advocate for me, and tell my dad and my mom and I won’t have to tell them about this awkward thing,” said the woman, now 35, who has filed a civil lawsuit against Nassar and MSU. “Finally we’re going to get help, something will change and we won’t have to go back to him. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, I felt very shamed.”
Boyce also felt intimidated and humiliated, and remembers what Klages said about filing a report.
“She said, ‘I can file this, but there are going to be serious consequences for you and Nassar,’” Boyce said. “I said I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
Klages, who retired in February after victims came forward through lawsuits, declined to be interviewed regarding the incident or whether she told anyone else about the girls’ complaints. The response came through her attorney, Steven Stapleton of Grand Rapids.
Klages didn’t tell Boyce’s parents, but she did tell Nassar, Boyce said.
“Had I known she was such good friends with him, I would not have said anything,” Boyce said.
Two years later, runner Christie Achenbach sounded an alarm when she told her coach about Nassar’s conduct in 1999.
Achenbach, a track and cross country athlete, had hurt her right hamstring and seen 15 other medical specialists before MSU athletic center staff referred her to Nassar.
During her appointment, Nassar told her that he was going to do something different for her pain, she said in an interview.
“He said his new way of treating people was going internally and manipulating the pelvic floor in order to help with any problem a female might have,” said Achenbach, then 21. “He said he had to go in, but he didn’t tell me that the way he was going to go in was not using lubricant like a doctor would. He just kept rubbing back and forth — that’s when I knew something was going on ... Then he put his fingers up inside me.”
Immediately afterward, Achenbach called her parents. She then said she called her coach, Kelli Bert, and told her that Nassar had rubbed her and inserted his fingers inside her, Achenbach said in an interview.
“He’s an Olympic doctor and he should know what he is doing,” Achenbach, now 40, said Bert told her.
Bert, who worked for MSU for one year as an assistant coach, told The News she doesn’t remember Achenbach complaining about Nassar. She also said she didn’t know Nassar was an Olympic doctor.
“I don’t recall any of that,” said Bert. “If he had done something sexual, I believe I would have reported that immediately.”
Bert said she learned of Nassar’s assaults from media reports and said no one told her that he was “doing something disgusting like that.”
Crying, Bert said she was upset that someone had to go through that.
“If someone had said something about being assaulted, I would never brush it aside,” she said. “To me, that is every woman’s nightmare.”
‘No way, that’s not right’
In 2000, another victim spoke up, this time to an athletic trainer. Tiffany Thomas Lopez had moved to East Lansing from southern California to play softball for the Spartans.
Soon after, Thomas Lopez developed low back pain and she was referred to Nassar, who told her he would manipulate the pelvic floor area.
During the early treatments, Nassar briefly would slip his thumb inside her. But in later visits, he put his fingers inside her and moved them around, sometimes for 15 minutes, she said. She started to question it to her trainers and often made up excuses not to go.
While away at a softball tournament, Thomas Lopez was in the hotel room of her team trainer, Lianna Hadden, who was working with her because she was in so much pain. Thomas Lopez demonstrated to the trainer what Nassar would do to her to relieve her pain.
“She gasped,” said Thomas Lopez, now 37. “She said, ‘No way, that’s not right.’”
Hadden, who remains an MSU athletic trainer working with the volleyball team, declined to comment to The News.
Thomas Lopez said Hadden told her she needed to tell Destiny Teachnor-Hauk, an athletic trainer at MSU.
Thomas Lopez recalls talking to Teachnor-Hauk after the tournament while sitting on the bleachers in MSU’s Jenison Field House.
“I was told if I felt extremely uncomfortable then of course we could pursue something but I was assured this was actual medical treatment,” said Thomas Lopez. “If I decided to pursue something, it was going to cast a burden over my family. She said it was going cause a lot of heartache, it was going to cause a lot of trauma and why would I want drag him through this?”
During testimony Tuesday at Nassar’s sentencing, a second woman — Jennifer Rood Bedford — testified that about two years after Thomas Lopez, she told Hadden that Nassar had made her uncomfortable.
“I was so scared of revealing what I thought were shameful details that I didn’t give her much to go on,” Rood Bedford said. “In the end, she wanted me to understand that filing a report, it would involve an investigation, making an accusation against Nassar and statement that I felt that what Nassar did was unprofessional or criminally wrong.”
Rood Bedford said she couldn’t say that with certainty.
For Thomas Lopez, who learned of Rood Bedford’s testimony from a reporter, it was a second betrayal.
Fourteen years after Thomas Lopez said she told Teachnor-Hauk about Nassar, Teachnor-Hauk was interviewed during a Title IX investigation into Nassar’s conduct headed by Kristine Moore, then assistant director of the Institutional Equity Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives.
“Ms. Teachnor-Hauk states that she has never had a complaint about Dr. Nassar in 17 years and has no concern about him crossing the line between medically appropriate and inappropriate,” the report says.
Three years later, according to a March 2017 police report, Teachnor-Hauk told two MSU police officers and an FBI agent she “never had an athlete tell her that Nassar made them uncomfortable.”
Thomas Lopez was audibly distraught after being told by a reporter of Teachnor-Hauk’s statements in the Title IX and police reports.
She began sobbing. “That is not my truth,” Thomas Lopez said. “My life has been turned upside down because she decided not to tell my truth.”
Teachnor-Hauk did not respond to requests for comment for this story. She remains an athletic trainer in charge of MSU women’s gymnastics and supervises training for the varsity and novice rowing teams, as well as the Jenison training room.
Family friend an accuser
Nassar’s victims were not limited to his work as a physician. A family friend of Nassar testified last year that she told MSU clinical psychologist Dr. Gary Stollak about the doctor’s abuse in the mid-2000s.
Kyle Stephens, the first to publicly testify against Nassar last year, said he began molesting her in 1998 by exposing himself in the basement of his home. She was 6.
Over six years, Nassar touched himself in front of her, massaged her feet against his groin and inserted his fingers inside her, Stephens testified in a preliminary examination for Nassar in an Ingham County district court.
She repeated her testimony at Nassar’s sentencing hearing Tuesday.
After Stephens told her parents in 2004, when she was in the sixth grade, they took her to see Stollak, Stephens said in an interview.
Stollak suggested her parents meet with him and Nassar. During the meeting, Nassar denied using her feet to stimulate himself, and her parents believed him, said Stephens, who did not attend.
Nassar came to her house that day and told her that if anything like that ever happened to her, she needed to tell someone.
“Larry is a very sick man who is very devoted to putting himself in a position to feed his pedophilia,” said Stephens, now 25. “I wasn’t anything but an object or a catalyst to make that happen.”
Reached at his home, Stollak, who retired in 2010, repeated to The News what he testified in court last year.
“I had a stroke in 2016 and I said with my right hand raised, I have no memories of any encounters with any of the people related to the case,” said Stollak.
Stephens said Stollak didn’t try hard enough to find out what Nassar did and should have reported her allegations against the doctor to authorities.
“Dr. Stollak did a pretty pathetic job of trying to uncover the truth,” she said. “There should have been mandatory reporting. He was in a profession where he should have done that.”
A 1975 Michigan law requires certain professionals to report suspicions of child abuse to Children’s Protective Services including school administrators, teachers, psychologists and law enforcement officers.
‘Police ... just took his word’
Brianne Randall-Gay went to local police in spring 2004 after leaving her second visit with Nassar for back pain. He had touched her bare breast and put his hand between her legs, she said.
Randall-Gay, then a 16-year-old soccer and tennis player, told friends at her high school in Haslett, near Lansing, about the visit. Then she went home and told her mother. That evening, Randall-Gay went to the Meridian Township Police Department, where officers sent her to Sparrow Hospital for a rape kit.
A few weeks later, police asked Randall-Gay and her parents to meet with Nassar.
Randall-Gay didn’t want to go, so her parents went without her. Afterward, they told her Nassar and the police said what she experienced was a legitimate treatment.
Randall-Gay’s father is deceased and her mother couldn’t be reached for comment.
“Larry said it was a misunderstanding because I was not a gymnast and not as comfortable with my body and that was where the misunderstanding was,” said Randall-Gay, now 30. “The police ... just took his word.”
Randall-Gay, who publicly revealed her identity during Nassar’s sentencing hearing and in an interview with The Detroit News, said she did not know if Meridian Township police contacted MSU about her complaint.
Assistant Police Chief Ken Plaga said the department did not alert Michigan State University and never forwarded her report to the Ingham County prosecutor. He declined to elaborate.
Plaga said the department is withholding the release of Randall-Gay’s police report, which The News requested, at the direction of the Attorney General’s office until sentencing of Nassar is finished.
Randall-Gay said she wishes police had told officials at MSU. She believes someone at MSU should be held accountable for Nassar’s actions.
“It’s really hard to see an institution that I look up to not take ownership for its mistakes of allowing a predator to continue to abuse for so long,” Randall-Gay said. “They should be ashamed.”
Complaints reach Simon
A decade later, another woman took a step to alert MSU about Nassar in a report that came to the attention of MSU’s president.
In April 2014, MSU alum Amanda Thomashow told Dr. Jeff Kovan, of the MSU Sports Medicine Clinic, about possible sexual misconduct while on a March 24 visit to Nassar’s office for treatment of hip pain.
Kovan reported the incident to the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, then the office that investigated sexual misconduct complaints under Title IX laws that bar discrimination on the basis of sex. The accuser also reported the abuse to the MSU police department in May 2014.
Kovan declined a request for comment through Laura Probyn, a spokeswoman for the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Notice of both complaints reached Simon. The MSU president declined to be interviewed for this story, although she briefly answered questions Wednesday in a break during Nassar’s sentencing hearing indicating she knew very little about the investigation.
Moore, the office’s assistant director and now MSU’s assistant general counsel, investigated for the university.
Thomashow — who had kept her identity concealed until this week — told the investigator Nassar worked on her shoulder and massaged her breast “like your boyfriend would while you were making out with him,” according to the report.
She tried to stop him, but Nassar continued, massaging her over the top of her clothes and then moving his hands underneath her sweat pants.
“He began to massage her with three fingers in a circular motion in her vaginal area,” according to the Title IX report. “She states that he was extremely close to inserting a finger into her.”
The report includes interviews with the victim’s mother and three of her friends, plus Nassar and three MSU medical manipulation specialists — Dr. Brooke Lemmen, Dr. Lisa DeStefano and Dr. Jennifer Gilmore — plus Teachnor-Hauk, the MSU athletic trainer. All told investigators that Nassar’s behavior was medically appropriate, according to the report.
All three doctors also said they don’t do skin-to-skin contact, even though it makes it easier to feel for soft tissue changes.
“She does it over clothes because, as a woman, she is sensitive to the fact that skin-to-skin contact may be uncomfortable for some,” according to the report’s summary of the interview with DeStefano, chairwoman and associate professor in the Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine.
The Title IX complaint concluded that Nassar’s conduct was not of a sexual nature.
There is not a consistent level at which MSU administrators are alerted of the disposition of Title IX complaints, Cody told The News.
“It all depends on the circumstances involved in each specific case,” he said in an email. “There is no blanket answer.”
Cody said Simon did not receive additional information about the inquiry or its outcome.
“As there was no finding of a policy violation, there was no further briefing,” he said. “There typically wouldn’t be.”
Probyn said DeStefano and Gilmore, an assistant professor, declined to comment.
Lemmen resigned in January 2017 after being threatened with termination, MSU documents show. According to the records, Nassar had told Lemmen USA Gymnastics was investigating him, but she told no one. She removed several boxes of confidential treatment records at Nassar’s request after allegations emerged about him but returned the records before giving them to Nassar, the MSU documents show.
Aaron Kemp, an attorney for Lemmen, said she would not comment.
Moore notified Nassar’s boss, Dr. William Strampel, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, about the complaint. At Strampel’s direction, Nassar agreed to have another person in the room when treating patients and to limit skin-to-skin contact, according to emails obtained by The News.
Strampel recently stepped down from his position and is on medical leave. He did not respond to requests for comment.
A year after the complaint, MSU police forwarded the report to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, which declined to file charges against Nassar. The prosecutor at the time, Stuart Dunnings III, could not be reached for comment.
MSU Detective Kelly Johnson spoke with Nassar in December 2015 and told him the prosecutor was not pressing charges, but reminded him to have a chaperone in the room and to explain his procedures, according to an MSU police report.
That same report showed that after July 2014, when Nassar was cleared in the Title IX investigation, at least 12 assaults occurred. Thomashow, who filed the complaint, said she suspects the number is far higher.
“It makes me sad my word wasn’t enough to protect them,” Thomashow told The News. “I am really frustrated that MSU did not stop him when I gave them information. It’s time for MSU to be held accountable for what happened. They need to admit they were wrong.”
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Man charged in death
Grand Rapids Press, The (MI)
June 7, 2006
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
MASON -- A 72-year-old physician was charged with killing his wife, whose death 38 years ago had been thought to be caused by polio.
Charles William Mercer, who works at Ingham Regional Medical Center, was arrested in his home Monday and charged with open murder. Chris Bergstrom, an attorney for Charles Mercer, declined comment.
Sally Sue Mercer died Feb. 27, 1968, at the couple's Okemos home. At the time, a pathologist ruled she died from bulbar polio.
Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth said improvements in forensic science and "old-fashioned detective work" led to the doctor's arrest.
The sheriff said authorities long suspected foul play and reopened the case in 1995. In 2001, Sally Mercer's death certificate was changed to say she was the victim of a homicide. A second autopsy in August 2003 showed the death was not caused by polio.
Woman worried husband would kill her
Grand Rapids Press, The (MI)
June 14, 2006
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
MASON -- Shortly before her death in 1968, investigators say the wife of a Lansing-area doctor wrote to a close friend that she feared her husband might kill her.
The letter was brought up at June 5 court hearing where Ingham County officials sought to charge Charles William Mercer with killing his wife, according to a transcript of court testimony that was unsealed Tuesday.
Ingham County detectives say Sally Sue Mercer asked her friend to mail the letter and photographs to police if she were found dead.
The envelope included photographs of two vehicles parked outside a Lansing motel room. Detectives say the license plate registrations of the vehicles in the photo came back to Charles Mercer and Michelle Kelly, a woman he married after Sally Sue Mercer's death.
Mercer, 72, of Okemos, was charged with murder June 5 in the death of his first wife, who originally was thought to have died from bulbar polio. Investigators now say pathologists have concluded Sally Mercer died from a massive dose of a painkiller and her body showed signs of a struggle.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for June 26. Mercer is currently free on bond, his attorney said.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys offered little reaction to the testimony from an Ingham County detective that was unsealed Tuesday by District Judge Rosemarie Aquilina.
The evidence unsealed Tuesday consisted mostly of testimony from Ingham County sheriff's Detective Jason Ferguson.
Okemos woman died violent death in 1968, pathologist testifies
Medical experts in case of doctor charged with killing his wife cite signs of struggle and overdose
Detroit News
June 14, 2006
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
New issues have come to light in the case of an Okemos doctor charged last week with killing his wife in 1968.
According to transcripts of court testimony presented June 5 and unsealed Tuesday, Sally Sue Mercer sent a handwritten letter to a friend indicating that she believed her husband, Dr. Charles William Mercer, would kill her and asked her friend to give the letter to police if she were found dead.
Also in transcripts revealed Tuesday, Ingham County Sheriff's Detective Jason Ferguson said that Grand Rapids forensic pathologist Stephen Cohle reviewed Sally Mercer's death certificate and told investigators the document was inaccurate, citing evidence she died violently.
Sally Mercer died Feb. 27, 1968, at the couple's Okemos home. A pathologist originally ruled that she died from polio, but a subsequent autopsy in 2003 found that the cause wasn't polio, Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth said.
Wriggelsworth declined to say what the cause of death was or what led to Mercer's arrest. But he said authorities long suspected foul play and reopened the case in 1995. Pathologists have concluded Sally Mercer died from a massive dose of a painkiller and her body showed signs of a struggle.
Charles Mercer, 72, of Okemos was charged with murder June 5 in her death. He is being held on $2 million bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26.
Lethal levels of the painkiller propoxyphene were found in Sally Mercer's tissue samples during examinations by Robert Middleberg of the National Medical Services Lab in Philadelphia, Ferguson said in testimony transcripts.
Attorney Chris Bergstrom, reached at his law office Tuesday evening, said his client, who practices at Ingham Regional Medical Center in Lansing, is innocent and that "the rest of the story will come out in the courtroom."
Bergstrom filed a motion last week in 55th District Court in Mason containing correspondence from 1968 between a prosecutor and an attorney discussing doctors' findings that Sally Mercer and two other women -- Barbara VanGilder, 38, and Patricia Shepardson, 26 -- had died from a viral infection during a three-month period in Ingham and Eaton counties. Bergstrom said the prosecutor's office either destroyed or lost the files on the case.
Assistant Prosecutor Eric Matwiejczyk, citing the judge's wishes to limit discussion of the case outside of court, declined to comment.
Oakland Press, The (Pontiac, MI)
August 15, 2007
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
Drunken driving charges against state Rep. John Garfield, R-Rochester Hills, have been dismissed.
A clerk with the district court in East Lansing said the prosecutor filed for a dismissal Friday because "the prosecution cannot bear its burden of proof."
"I just found out yesterday," Garfield said Tuesday. "I'm unaware of what occurred between the prosecutor and the court and my attorney, but I'm gratified to just move on and do the rest of my job while I'm here. "My focus is on my work," he said. Garfield, 57, was arrested in East Lansing in March by Michigan State University campus police.
A former county commissioner, Garfield is in his third two-year term in the state House. He cannot run for the House again because of term limits.
Garfield had previously been arrested on a drunken driving charge in 2005 and later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired.
His jury trial on the latest charge was expected to begin soon.
"I appreciate (Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart) Dunnings' due diligence," Garfield said. "I appreciate the court's candor and allowing me quiet time without the press there."
Doc's murder charge shakes hospital workers - Lansing physician suspected of killing wife in 1968
Grand Rapids Press, The (MI)
June 26, 2006
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
OKEMOS -- Charles William Mercer spent four decades building a solid resume within the Lansing area's medical community.
Mercer was named "surgeon of the year" by a national osteopathic medical association in 1989. He once was a high-ranking doctor at a Lansing hospital, and at 72, still practiced medicine at one of its affiliates. He has helped train medical students and served as a part-time administrator with an Ingham County nursing home.
But before accomplishing many of those career milestones, Ingham County authorities suspect Mercer killed his first wife. He faces a preliminary hearing today in the 1968 death of Sally Sue Mercer.
Co-workers say they have a hard time believing the distinguished, gray-haired doctor is the same person charged with open murder.
"The person we know -- and truthfully, the person we trust -- is not a person who could have committed this act," said Susan O'Shea, administrator at Ingham County Medical Care Facility, an Okemos nursing home where Mercer worked as medical director until his arrest this month. "I look at Dr. Mercer, and he saves lives. He is very compassionate. This doesn't add up."
Mercer is out on bond. O'Shea, citing legal requirements that the nursing home have a medical director in place at all times, has replaced Mercer on an interim basis until the murder charge is resolved.
Chris Bergstrom, Mercer's attorney, has said his client is innocent and awaits his day in court to prove it. He has said prosecutors lost or destroyed key evidence in the case and that Sally Mercer died of a viral infection.
Bergstrom declined further comment Friday, as did Ingham County Assistant Prosecutor Linda Maloney.
But transcripts from a previously closed June 5 court hearing, where investigators successfully sought a warrant for Mercer's arrest, give some insight to how authorities say the case has evolved.
Medical authorities originally said Sally Mercer died from bulbar polio. But Mercer was long suspected by police in his wife's death, and investigators say a second autopsy in 2003 has led pathologists to conclude she died from a massive dose of a painkiller and that her body showed signs of a struggle.
Ingham County Sheriff's Department Detective Jason Ferguson testified that Sally Mercer was found dead by her daughter, then 8 years old, when she came home from school with a friend. Another daughter, then 2, was sitting near her mother's body.
Ferguson testified that Sally Mercer wrote to a friend shortly before she died that she was afraid her husband might kill her. She also mailed the friend photographs that detectives say showed Charles Mercer's vehicle and another woman's vehicle parked outside a Lansing motel room.
The other vehicle, police say, was registered to Michelle Kelly -- whom Mercer married after his first wife's death.
Michelle Kelly Mercer, in a 2003 interview with detectives, admitted to an affair with Mercer during his marriage to Sally Mercer, Ferguson said.
After remarrying, Mercer continued to live in the same home on a tranquil, tree-lined Okemos street. Some of his suburban Lansing neighbors describe him as approachable and a good neighbor.
Mercer is affiliated with Ingham Regional Medical Center in Lansing, where hospital spokesman David Eich said he is "a good surgeon."
Until his arrest, Mercer also spent a few hours each week working at the nearby Okemos nursing home. As medical director, Mercer reviewed facility practices, signed incident reports and helped craft nursing policies.
He earned about $12,000 a year at the job his co-workers said was not done for the money, but rather for a genuine interest in improving the lives of nursing home residents.
"He's someone I feel very comfortable with just sitting across from my desk," said Julie Pudvay, the center's director of nursing.
But in the upcoming court hearing, another side to Mercer may be presented by prosecutors.
According to the Ingham County detective's testimony, a friend of Sally Mercer's said the doctor showed up at her house a few days after the death and threatened her. He told her to watch what she said to police.
The images don't match up for many who worked with Mercer over a long, successful medical career.
"The staff is kind of in shock," O'Shea said. "They can't quite put the two together."
Witness: Doctor's wife feared divorce would lead to murder
Grand Rapids Press, The (MI)
June 27, 2006
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
MASON -- Sally Mercer was distraught the day she died in 1968 and feared she would be killed for wanting a divorce, her friend testified Monday in a preliminary hearing for the woman's husband, a physician who continues to practice in the Lansing area.
Charles William Mercer, 72, of Okemos, is charged with murder in Sally Mercer's death.
The death originally was attributed to bulbar polio, but investigators now say pathologists have concluded Sally Mercer died from a massive dose of a painkiller and her body showed signs of a struggle.
Eunice Klewicki, a neighbor of the Mercers, testified on the first day of a probable cause hearing that she went to have coffee with Sally Mercer at her home one morning in February, something she did frequently.
Klewicki said Sally Mercer was visibly upset and told her that she wanted a divorce, but she feared her husband might kill her. Klewicki said Mercer told her that her husband had threatened to throw her and their 2-year-old daughter out of the second story of their home.
"She was distraught. I was shocked. I was very upset for her," Klewicki said. She added she left after Charles Mercer came home near noon, an unusual time for him to be at the house.
Police say Sally Mercer was found dead later that day by her older daughter, then 8, when she came home from school with a friend.
Klewicki also said the doctor showed up at her house a few days after the death and threatened her. He told her to watch what she said to police.
Chris Bergstrom, the doctor's defense attorney, attempted to cast doubt on Klewicki's memory by showing potential discrepancies in the day's timeline. Klewicki said Mercer didn't get home until noon, but another witness testified that Charles Mercer answered the phone earlier when she called for Sally Mercer.
During a spat between the prosecution and defense, the judge said Klewicki's testimony was "all over the place."
Bergstrom said his client is innocent and authorities lost or destroyed key evidence in the case. Bergstrom has said Sally Mercer died of a viral infection, and got a medical expert to say Monday that such an infection can cause excruciating headaches.
High levels of propoxyphene -- a pain reliever -- were found in Sally Mercer's tissue samples, and Bergstrom said the drug has caused thousands of accidental deaths.
Michelle Kelly Mercer, whom Charles Mercer married after his first wife's death, admitted to an affair with Mercer during his marriage to Sally Mercer, according to detectives.
Dr. Dorothy Shillinglaw, a former colleague of Charles Mercer, testified that Michelle Kelly -- then a nurse at Lansing General Hospital -- accompanied Mercer on a 1966 trip to central Mexico to give medical care to Indians. Shillinglaw said it was "common knowledge" that Charles Mercer and Kelly were having an affair.
Expert questions test's accuracy
Grand Rapids Press, The (MI)
November 15, 2006
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
MASON -- The prosecution's final witness in Dr. Charles Mercer's preliminary hearing on charges of killing his wife questioned the accuracy of tests showing lethal levels of a painkilling drug in her exhumed remains.
The test results might have been skewed by embalming fluid, decomposition or cross-contamination, Dr. Laura Labay testified Monday during Mercer's preliminary examination. But Labay, a forensic expert, said she was not certain that external factors affected the tests' validity.
The hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for Mercer, 72, to stand trial on charges of killing his 31-year-old wife, Sally, in 1968 has been held intermittently since June. The Okemos physician, who is free on $1 million bond, has pleaded not guilty. The defense will begin calling witnesses when the hearing resumes Dec. 18.
Sally Mercer's death in February 1968 originally was blamed on bulbar polio. The case was reopened in the mid-1990s, and the woman's remains were exhumed in August 2003. Investigators now say pathologists have concluded Sally Mercer died from a massive dose of a painkiller.
Charges dropped against Garfield
Oakland Press, The (Pontiac, MI)
August 15, 2007
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
Drunken driving charges against state Rep. John Garfield, R-Rochester Hills, have been dismissed.
A clerk with the district court in East Lansing said the prosecutor filed for a dismissal Friday because "the prosecution cannot bear its burden of proof."
"I just found out yesterday," Garfield said Tuesday. "I'm unaware of what occurred between the prosecutor and the court and my attorney, but I'm gratified to just move on and do the rest of my job while I'm here. "My focus is on my work," he said. Garfield, 57, was arrested in East Lansing in March by Michigan State University campus police.
A former county commissioner, Garfield is in his third twoyear term in the state House. He cannot run for the House again because of term limits.
Garfield had previously been arrested on a drunken driving charge in 2005 and later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired.
His jury trial on the latest charge was expected to begin soon.
"I appreciate (Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart) Dunnings' due diligence," Garfield said. "I appreciate the court's candor and allowing me quiet time without the press there."
Michigan Supreme Court to rule in statute of limitations case: Without limitations?
Michigan Lawyers Weekly (MI)
May 26, 2008
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
Murder does not have a statute of limitations.
Nevertheless, an Okemos physician accused of killing his wife with a lethal dose of painkillers recently tried to persuade the Michigan Supreme Court that he couldn't get fair trial, given that the crime had allegedly been committed 40 years ago.
In an era of "cold cases" - and with a high court known for its textualist interpretation of the law - can defendant William Charles Mercer prevail and avoid a murder trial?
Well, it depends on who you ask.
East Lansing criminal law expert F. Martin Tieber told Michigan Lawyers Weekly, "While there is a good reason for not enacting a statute of limitations for murder, at some point the delay becomes so substantial that there is no possibility a criminal defendant can obtain a fair trial."
And, he continued, "when that point is reached, as it was in [People v.] Mercer, where the delay was nearly 40 years, due process requires that the courts step in to stop prosecutorial excess and abuse in cold cases."
That's exactly what Mercer is asking the Supreme Court to do.
In 1968, Mercer's wife, Sally, was found dead in their home.
According to a May 5 press release issued by the Supreme Court, investigating officers believed Sally may have died of unnatural causes, because she had what appeared to be defensive bruises on her body.
However, when the medical examiner concluded that Sally died from bulbar polio, no further investigation continued.
That is, until 1995.
Twenty-seven years after Sally's death, a cold case team began to reinvestigate it.
The team exhumed her body and conducted tests that allegedly revealed evidence that Sally had died of a drug overdose.
Next came an arrest and open murder charge for Mercer, followed by a dismissal by a trial judge.
"The witnesses are dead [or] unable to testify or remember, or they are so old and frail they simply can't remember anymore," the judge said. The case "should have been brought many years ago."
A Michigan Court of Appeals panel disagreed, and reinstated the case against Mercer.
That's when Mercer asked the Supreme Court to rule - as his attorney, Chris Bergstrom told the Lansing State Journal - he would be "deprived of a fair trial, regardless of whether it was intentionally, unintentionally, or negligently[.]"
And, though Tieber believes Mercer has a fighting chance at persuading the high court, Detroit appellate specialist Mark R. Bendure isn't quite so sure.
"I suspect [this] due process argument will fail, [because] as I understand the current criminal/constitutional law issue, even lengthy delay is not a basis for dismissal in the absence of an intentional delay by the prosecution," he said. "The right to a speedy trial does not involve the right to a speedy arrest or prosecution."
For Bendure, the current makeup of the Supreme Court could also be a significant hurdle for Mercer.
"The Michigan Supreme Court is perceived as prosecution-favorable, in general, so I would not expect them to be particularly helpful to criminal defendants as a class," he said.
Doctor's case up in the air
Grand Rapids Press
August 27, 2008
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
LANSING -- Ingham County's prosecutor will decide whether to continue a murder case against a doctor charged with killing his wife 38 years ago. Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said he will review court transcripts before deciding his next move in the case against Charles William Mercer, of Okemos. Mercer was arrested in connection with Sally Mercer's death in 2006. Investigators who re-examined the case say she died of a drug overdose, not bulbar polio as ruled when she died in 1968. Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette ruled Monday that Charles Mercer never should have been bound over for trial.
Doctor's case dropped
Grand Rapids Press, The (MI)
December 31, 2008
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
LANSING -- Prosecutors have decided not to continue a murder case against a Lansing-area doctor charged with killing his wife 40 years ago.
The Michigan Supreme Court released the information in an order dated Monday.
Charles William Mercer, of Okemos, was arrested in Sally Mercer's death in 2006.
Investigators who re-examined the case say she died of a drug overdose, not bulbar polio as ruled when she died in 1968. Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette ruled in August that Charles Mercer never should have been bound over for trial and concluded there was no evidence a crime was committed.
MSU hoops players not charged
Kalamazoo Gazette (MI)
September 30, 2010
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
EAST LANSING -- Two Michigan State University men's basketball players were not charged after being accused of an on-campus sexual assault last month because the prosecuting attorney said there was not sufficient proof of force or coercion and that the accuser mutually agreed not to move forward with the case.
An Internet news site, citing the police report, reported that one of the men consented to a police interview in which he said the other man continued having sex with the woman after she protested.
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III confirmed his office decided not to bring charges after what he called a thorough review of the incident, which occurred late Aug. 29 and early Aug. 30 at Wonders Hall.
MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo declined comment Wednesday.
The players are not identified because there are no charges.
Dunnings said the police report, and other documents, were reviewed by at least two assistant prosecutors, including Debra Rousseau Bouck, who evaluates all criminal sexual conduct cases for Ingham County.
Bouck reviewed "the entire transcript of the victim's statement, not just the snippets in the police report," Dunnings said, before interviewing the alleged victim two days after the incident.
"Miss Bouck asked her the same questions she could expect to be asked while on the witness stand," Dunnings said. "After that, Miss Bouck told the victim she wanted to do one more interview and, after completing that interview, she called and told the victim there would be no arrest warrant."
That second interview, Dunnings said, was conducted by police, with a suite mate who was in his dorm room throughout the incident. The two rooms are separated by a shared bathroom. The suite mate said he heard what sounded like people engaged in sex, but no struggling or protests.
The accuser was offered the opportunity to meet again with prosecutors for reconsideration but declined, Dunnings said.
The Michigan Messenger, a news site sponsored by a nonprofit, initially broke the story Wednesday.
It reported it had obtained a "heavily redacted" police report with a vivid five-page victim's statement, and records of items seized during a search of the dormitory room where the alleged incident occurred. The Messenger also interviewed the accuser.
Political courtship leads to messy affair
Detroit News
September 20, 2012
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
Lansing - The outcome of a grand jury investigation of alleged election rigging in a Grand Rapids state House race may not be known for months if ever.
But what's already publicly known about the attempt of House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, and state Rep. Roy Schmidt, R-Grand Rapids, to ensure Schmidt's easy re-election by recruiting a fake Democratic opponent is showing up on the campaign trail as Republicans fight to retain total control of state government.
Democrats are leveling almost daily charges of corruption at Bolger's feet as his fellow Republicans try to change the subject back to their accomplishments of tax and spending reform.
The politicking is becoming increasingly public as Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina launches a grand jury investigation of Bolger's and Schmidt's actions that will be shrouded in secrecy â€" and uncertainty for its high-profile targets â€" as required by state law.
State Rep. Pete Lund, the Shelby Township Republican charged with helping to keep Bolger and the GOP in power, acknowledges the scandal is a "legitimate issue" for Bolger's and Schmidt's re-election efforts, but doubts it will tarnish other Republicans.
A recent poll conducted by Lansing firm Practical Political Consulting found Bolger leading by just 3 percentage points over his relatively unknown Democratic opponent, Bill Farmer, in the 63rd District in parts of Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties.
"If (Democrats) bring it up, you can't say, 'Boy, it's not a fair issue,'" said Lund, chair of the House GOP re-election committee. "I think the Speaker is perfectly fine. I don't think he's going to have any problem explaining it."
Bolger's eroding support in a usually safe Republican district was caused by his public admission to coordinating an unethical scheme with Schmidt to fool voters, said state Rep. Jeff Irwin, chair of the House Democrats' campaign committee.
"Jase Bolger is putting this district into play," said Irwin, D-Ann Arbor.
While Bolger and Schmidt may be able to control messaging over their role in the scandal, legal experts say the second-term lawmakers won't be able to control the direction of Aquilina's probe, which could pick up where a state police investigation left off this summer.
"There's not much limit once that process starts," said James Giddings, a retired Ingham County Circuit judge who served with Aquilina until 2010. "But given her respect to the rules and commitment to the law, I would suspect it would be done in an orderly, straightforward manner."
Unusual circumstances caused Ingham County Circuit Court judges to determine there is probable cause Bolger and Schmidt committed perjury, obstructed justice and engaged in a conspiracy to defraud 76th District voters of a legitimate Democratic opponent when Schmidt switched parties to become a Republican.
"This is unchartered territory," said Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III, whose office has not been asked to assist Aquilina's investigation.
After Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth concluded in mid-July that Schmidt and Bolger broke no election law, investigation files from the Michigan State Police trickled out, revealing Forsyth canceled judge-authorized search warrants of the lawmakers' cellphone records. Schmidt and Bolger also acknowledged they were never interviewed by state police, raising questions about the thoroughness of Forsyth's investigation.
Unanswered questions were raised about whether Schmidt and/or Bolger knowingly persuaded 22-year-old Matthew Mojzak to commit perjury by lying about his residency to be Schmidt's fake opponent.
Bolger has said he will cooperate with the grand jury, which was empanelled at the request of Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer and state Democratic Party chairman Mark Brewer. Schmidt has called the investigation a waste of taxpayer money, according to published reports, but declined numerous Detroit News requests for an interview.
'Unbelievably thorough'
Aquilina, who declined to be interviewed because of the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, was drawn at random to lead the investigation.
Her judicial resume includes presiding over the lengthy pre-trial hearing of the Ricky Holland child murder case that made national headlines, tackling challenges to state-appointed emergency management of Flint and recently halting full implementation of a public school employee retirement benefits law.
"She's probably dealt with bigger, more prominent and more important individuals," said Lansing attorney Andrew Abood, who represented Lisa Holland in her son's murder trial.
Attorneys describe Aquilina as studious, conscientious, fair, beyond reproach and, above all, thorough.
"She's unbelievably thorough," said Veronica McNally, associate director of the Geoffrey Fieger Trial Practice Institute at Michigan State University's College of Law, where Aquilina is an adjunct professor. "She's going to do what's right, and that's the bottom line."
Before becoming a judge, she was a longtime aide to former state Sen. John Kelly, D-Grosse Pointe Woods. She is a former Michigan National Guard judge advocate general.
Despite Aquilina's background as a Democrat, her associates say she's apolitical.
"I wouldn't put her on my highly liberal list," said Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing.
Aquilina could decide to indict Schmidt or Bolger, arrive at the same conclusion Forsyth made and not recommend charges, or release a public report about her findings like Forsyth did.
If the probe results in no criminal charges, any new information Aquilina unearths could remain sealed. State law allows Aquilinato be a grand juror for up to six months and get a six-month extension if need be. Whatever the outcome, it will likely come after the votes are counted Nov. 6.
Schmidt may struggle
Most Republican lawmakers have said they'll support Bolger for another term as speaker if they retain control of the House.
But they've been less enthusiastic about Schmidt after Forysth's investigation revealed how Schmidt tried to pay Mojzak â€" a friend of his son and nephew $450 to be his fake opponent and offered to up the ante to $1,000 when Mojzak's residency came under immediate media scrutiny.
After forgoing a likely easy re-election as a Democrat to become a Republican minutes before the filing deadline in May, Schmidt now faces four opponents Democrat Winnie Brinks and three third-party candidates on the ballot and one write-in Republican opponent who have lined up to deny him a third and final term.
House Republicans will likely have to spend money to help Schmidt get re-elected. "I expect us to be playing in that seat," Lund told The Detroit News.
Democrats, seeking to avenge Schmidt's defection, have made the Grand Rapids lawmaker one of their top targets this fall.
Kalamazoo County Democrat Bill Farmer, a labor union arbitration advocate for AFSCME Council 25, said his long-shot campaign to unseat Bolger has benefited from the controversy, though he's quick to note, "I did not bring this issue to the campaign; Mr. Bolger did."
Farmer recently had to amend his campaign finance reports to be able to accept donations over $1,000, and Republicans in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties are privately grumbling about Bolger's role in the scandal, he said.
"Some have standing in the party and would prefer not to commit, but they're very concerned," Farmer said. "But what they do in the ballot booth would be up to them."
VIDEO - Andrea Larkin For 54B District Judge
LarkinForJudge2012
Published on Oct 30, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D6WmxygYuk
Judge David Jordon, Judge Richard Ball, and Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III endorse Andrea Larkin for 54B District Judge.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's office to prosecute Wixom-area shooting suspect
Oakland Press, The (Pontiac, MI)
November 27, 2012
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has taken over prosecution of charges against Raulie Wayne Casteel, the man suspected of carrying out several random shootings, in three mid-Michigan counties.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, however, has opted out of the grouping, and its attorneys will handle the 60 charges it brought against the 43-year-old Wixom man.
One man, Kalamazoo resident Scott Arnold, was shot in the hip through his car while he was driving to a World Series game. He was the only person hurt during the week and a half of shootings.
The shootings began Oct. 16 and continued seemingly at random until Oct. 27.
Casteel has been charged and arraigned in Livingston County with six counts related to a shooting incident on I-96 in Howell. The felony charges include: assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm with unlawful intent and discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle.
Cooper’s office wrote 60 counts in nine of 13 incidents in Oakland County.
The most severe charge against the married father in Oakland County was assault with intent to murder.
“Already, local, state and federal authorities have come together to protect the public, and this prosecution is a continuation of that cooperation,” said Schuette in a prepared statement Tuesday. “I look forward to working with my colleagues from Ingham, Livingston, and Shiawassee counties to bring these cases to a close.”
Some have asked why Oakland County decided to pursue its cases on its own.
“We were a part of the task force and we handled most of the search warrants,” said Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper. Continued...
The task force created to investigate 24 shooting incidents along the I-96 corridor through four counties brought in the FBI, the ATF and as many as seven other agencies during its investigation.
The task force headquarters were located in Wixom, where 10 incidents were first reported.
“We’re just a little further we’re advanced in the case because we were in on it from the beginning,” Cooper said.
The assignment of the case to the attorney general came at the request of prosecutors in Ingham, Shiawassee and Livingston counties.
“These alleged crimes spanned multiple jurisdictions over several counties,” said Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III in a prepared release from the Attorney General’s Office. “Given the nature of the allegations, we believe the attorney general can best prosecute this matter.”
The Ingham County official said the main reasons for the consolidation are efficiency, economy and clarity of presentation to a jury.
Cooper thinks otherwise.
“It would not save time or trouble because, to the best of my knowledge, the attorney general has not yet initiated charges,” she said.
She said venue is also important. A specific location in which to try these charges has to be established.
“There are no turf wars and no issue here,” added Cooper. “They have right to ask for help and attorney general has right to grant that,” Continued...
Dunnings said that he thinks the case would be best served in one presentation.
Casteel is currently in the Oakland County Jail and will soon be sent to the state’s forensic center for competency tests which will determine whether he is mentally fit enough to be able to stand trial.
He has 90 days from his last court date — Nov. 13 — to complete these tests.
The paperwork has already been completed, said Cooper, but the exact date Casteel will be tested is unknown.
He remains jailed on $2 million bond in Oakland and Livingston Counties.
A.G.’s office to lead prosecution of accused highway shooter
Argus-Press
November 28, 2012
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
CORUNNA — Prosecutors from three counties, including Shiawassee, announced Tuesday the state attorney general’s office will lead the prosecution of Raulie Casteel.
Casteel, 43, of Wixom, is accused of committing two dozen random shootings along a 100-mile stretch of roadway in Oakland, Livingston, Ingham and Shiawassee counties.
According to a press release issued by the Shiawassee County Prosecutor’s office, the assignment of the case to the Attorney General came at the request of Shiawassee County Prosecutor Randy Colbry, Livingston County Prosecutor David Morse and Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings. The Oakland County Prosecutor will continue to handle the case filed in that county.
“Already, local, state and federal authorities have come together to protect the public, and this prosecution is a continuation of that cooperation,” Attorney General Bill Schuette said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues from Ingham, Livingston and Shiawassee counties to bring these cases to a close.”
Prosecutors from the three counties said it makes sense to involve the attorney general’s office.
“The most sensible way to prosecute these crimes, which occurred across county lines and were investigated by a joint task-force, is to involve the Attorney General,” Colbry said in a statement.
Casteel, who was arrested Nov. 5 by Michigan State Police troopers, currently faces charges in Livingston and Oakland counties in connection with the shootings.
Schuette’s office will lead the prosecution of the unemployed geologist in the Livingston case. The Oakland County prosecutor’s office will continue to handle the 60 counts Casteel faces in connection with shootings in Wixom and Commerce Township. Casteel could be sentenced to up to life in prison if convicted of any of the eight attempted murder counts he faces in Oakland County, where many of the two-dozen shootings occurred.
Casteel first was charged in Livingston County, where he faces assault with a dangerous weapon and five other gun-related counts. Those charges stem from an Oct. 18 shooting on I-96 in Howell Township.
The attorney general’s office said its criminal division will review evidence collected by a multi-jurisdictional task force and decide whether to bring charges related to shootings in Ingham and Shiawassee counties.
The shootings, which took place along a 100-mile freeway corridor between Oct. 16 and Oct. 27, kept area communities on edge.
Most of the shootings targeted cars near I-96, though authorities said one occurred while a man was taking out his trash. Only one person was hit, a man who was shot in the buttocks.
Ten shootings were in Wixom, where Casteel lived with his wife, daughter and in-laws.
Defense attorneys say he’s a married, college-educated, stay-at-home dad with no criminal history.
On professional websites, Casteel described himself as a geologist and soil scientist with experience in environmental cleanup. He’s a Michigan native who lived in Taylorsville, Ky., before returning to his home state earlier this year.
Judges in Novi and Howell on Nov. 14 ordered Casteel to undergo tests to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.
TyQuan Hammock arrested for DUI, weapons charge around time he parted ways with Michigan State football
Saginaw News
March 19, 2013
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
EAST LANSING, MI -- Michigan State junior TyQuan Hammock left the Spartans football program not long after the 2012 season ended to pursue a career opportunity, according to coach Mark Dantonio.
But Hammock also was arrested in February for driving and carrying a handgun while drunk.
The timeline seems coincidental, but MSU associate athletic director John Lewandowski says the arrest came after Hammock told the coaching staff that it was time to leave football.
Hammock, 22, of Fort Wayne, Ind., played three seasons for the Spartans, the last two primarily on special teams. He's perhaps best known for hauling in a critical 29-yard-pass from Le'Veon Bell in Michigan State's Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl victory over TCU on Dec. 29, 2012.
At Monday's spring football press conference, Dantonio said Hammock opted to forego his senior season of football in favor of an internship opportunity.
"(H)e's decided to graduate and has an opportunity for an internship this spring, so he came to me shortly after the bowl game and sort of wanted to go in that direction," Dantonio said. "That was his decision. He was able to do that, and he wanted to move on...
"(We) certainly wanted TyQuan back. I think he's a very good football player. But he just felt like it was time."
Dantonio did not mention Hammock's off-season arrest at the press conference. When asked later by MLive.com, he declined to comment on whether it had anything to do with the fourth-year junior's status with the team.
Michigan State University police Officer Jeff Kurtz pulled Hammock over near the intersection of Kalamazoo and Harrison roads in East Lansing about 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 9, court records show. The MSU junior’s blood-alcohol level was 0.09 percent, according to Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III.
Hammock was carrying a pistol at the time of his arrest, court records show. He had a valid concealed pistol license from Indiana, according to Dunnings.
Associate athletic director Lewandowski said Hammock was arrested less than one week after he told coaches he was leaving the football program.
“The second semester had already begun when he informed (Dantonio) that it was time to retire from football, that he wanted to begin his career and life after football,” Lewandowski said. “A week later, he was arrested. I cannot give you an exact date.
“I was informed that he left the team, and within a week I became aware that he was arrested.”
Hammock originally was charged with operating while intoxicated and carrying a concealed weapon with a blood-alcohol level between 0.08 percent and 0.10 percent, both misdemeanors punishable by up to 93 days in jail.
On Feb. 27, Hammock agreed to a plea deal that eliminated the weapons charge in exchange for Hammock’s pleading guilty to a lessened charge of operating while visibly impaired, court records show. That diminished charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail, 360 hours of community service and a $300 fine.
Hammock’s pistol and ammunition were seized during his arrest. He must forfeit both, as well as pay $272.50 in restitution, per terms of the plea agreement.
Hammock was released from jail on a $500 personal recognizance bond.
Dunnings said Hammock was offered the plea deal because his blood-alcohol level was just beyond the legal limit.
“He was a .09, which is within the margin of error (of the Breathalyzer test), so he might not have been in violation,” Dunnings said. “Are we going to go to trial over that?”
Dunnings also noted that, since such sentences must be served concurrently, convicting Hammock on both original charges would have yielded the same maximum penalty.
He declined to say whether Hammock had a prior criminal record. Michigan State Police records show no other arrests for Hammock in Michigan other than the Feb. 9 incident.
Hammock is scheduled to be sentenced before East Lansing District Judge Andrea Larkin on March 25. He could not be reached for comment.
Grand jury deadline looms in Roy Schmidt-Jase Bolger party switch scheme investigation
Kalamazoo Gazette
August 7, 2013
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
LANSING, MI -- The clock is ticking on a one-judge grand jury investigating a 2012 political party switch orchestrated by former state Rep. Roy Schmidt and Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, who was tapped to lead the investigation one year ago, is expected to conclude her work by August 22 or seek a second extension allowing the probe to continue.
A criminal indictment would be problematic for either man, but the political stakes are highest for Bolger, R-Marshall, who was re-elected last year and retained his leadership position despite the release of text messages detailing his participation in the scheme.
An earlier and separate investigation by Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth resulted in a critical report but no criminal charges.
"As the Speaker has said previously, he sought to follow the law and insisted that all laws be followed," said Bolger spokesperson Ari Adler. "His position that he followed all laws has not changed."
Two high-profile members of the House GOP leadership team, including Bolger's Chief of Staff Suzanne Miller-Allen, resigned to take new jobs in recent months, fueling speculation that their departures were motivated by the pending conclusion of the investigation. Adler, however, dismissed those suggestions.
"Staff members leaving the office for an opportunity to advance their career or improve situations for their family is not related to the grand jury investigation," he said. "There are some political operatives who are trying to spin that story but their propaganda should be taken for what it's worth, which is absolutely nothing."
Bolger announced Tuesday that Norm Saari, who had been serving as appointments manager for Gov. Rick Snyder, has accepted a position as his new chief of staff. Saari previously worked for Miller-Allen's husband, former state Sen. Jason Allen.
Schmidt first won election to the state House in 2008 as a Democrat out of Grand Rapids. But just moments before the filing deadline for the August 2012 primary, he announced that he was moving to the Republican Party.
Schmidt later acknowledged his errors in judgement, which included an offer to pay Matt Mojzak, a 22-year-old political novice and family friend, to run in the Democratic primary with hopes of clearing a path in the general election. Mojzak quickly bowed out when the scheme came to light, and Schmidt eventually lost his seat to Democrat Winnie Brinks.
Bolger played a prominent role in the party switch, according to the eight-page report released last July by Forsyth. The report detailed text messages and meetings between Schmidt and Bolger leading up to the 2012 primary. Forsyth called the scheme a "travesty" that undermined the election -- but not a crime.
Suggesting frustration with the scope and scale of the original probe, along with Attorney General Bill Schuette's lack of interest in taking up the case, then-Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer and Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer requested a grand jury investigation.
Ingham County judges gave the job to Aquilina in August of 2012, providing her with sweeping authority to pull records, compel witness testimony and grant immunity. Grand juries are highly secretive, and Aquilina's only public communication about the case was a February order extending the investigation into this month.
"Obviously, it's been a very thorough process that Judge Aquilina has been taking," said Whitmer spokesperson Bob McCann, "and that's all we ever wanted.
"The reason Senator Whitmer called for the investigation was that there was a lot of frustration and anger by people who saw what happened and didn't see anyone following up on that with the type of inquiry that was called for in this case."
While Aquilina has been silent on all things grand jury, she has a reputation for being outspoken, as highlighted by her recent handling of a lawsuit seeking to stop Detroit from filing for bankruptcy. Her ruling in that case -- more specifically, her order to send the opinion to President Barack Obama -- led some to question her political impartiality.
"I don't think there's any question that the Ingham County Circuit Court is famous for being tilted to the Dems," said Bill Ballenger, a former Republican state lawmaker who now runs the Inside Michigan Politics newsletter. "...The whole thing has become kind of a farce. The (Detroit bankruptcy) thing last month was predictable from that court, and I wouldn't be surprised if she came out with something against Bolger."
The one-judge grand jury format is relatively rare in Michigan. If Aquilina believes she has evidence for criminal indictments, she would need to find a prosecutor willing to take up the case. Forsyth declined to press charges last year in Kent County, and Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III reportedly praised his handling of the case.
Bolger has thus far survived any political fallout from his involvement in the Schmidt party switch. But observers say that the scandal has clouded what many believed was a bright future likely to include election to higher office.
If Aquilina concludes her investigation without any indictments, the exoneration could be a boon for Bolger, who will be term-limited out of the House at the end of 2014. But if she finds a prosecutor willing to pursue charges, all bets are off.
"That's his worst nightmare," said Ballenger. "This thing would just continue to hang over him. That would really kill his chances. But those emails were really killers too. That had to be one of the dumbest escapades I've ever seen. Why he would say or write those things is beyond me. It's incredibly embarrassing whether it's technically illegal or not."
Bolger judge's decision expected within the month
Jackson Citizen Patriot (MI)
August 8, 2013
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
Suggesting frustration with the scope and scale of the original probe, along with Attorney General Bill Schuette's lack of interest in taking up the case, then-Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer and Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer requested a grand jury investigation.
Ingham County judges gave the job to Aquilina last August, providing her with sweeping authority to pull records, compel witness testimony and grant immunity. Grand juries are highly secretive, and Aquilina's only public communication about the case was a February order extending the investigation into this month.
"Obviously, it's been a very thorough process that Judge Aquilina has been taking," said Whitmer spokesperson Bob McCann, "and that's all we ever wanted.
"The reason Senator Whitmer called for the investigation was that there was a lot of frustration and anger by people who saw what happened and didn't see anyone following up on that with the type of inquiry that was called for in this case."
While Aquilina has been silent on all things grand jury, she has a reputation for being outspoken, as highlighted by her recent handling of a lawsuit seeking to stop Detroit from filing for bankruptcy. Her ruling in that case -- more specifically, her order to send the opinion to President Barack Obama -- led some to question her political impartiality.
"I don't think there's any question that the Ingham County Circuit Court is famous for being tilted to the Dems," said Bill Ballenger, a former Republican state lawmaker who now runs the Inside Michigan Politics newsletter. "The whole thing has become kind of a farce. The (Detroit bankruptcy) thing last month was predictable from that court, and I wouldn't be surprised if she came out with something against Bolger."
The one-judge grand jury format is relatively rare in Michigan. If Aquilina believes she has evidence for criminal indictments, she would need to find a prosecutor willing to take up the case. Forsyth declined to press charges last year in Kent County, and Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III reportedly praised his handling of the case.
Bolger has thus far survived any political fallout from his involvement in the Schmidt party switch. But observers say the scandal has clouded what many believed was a bright future likely to include election to higher office.
If Aquilina concludes her investigation without any indictments, the exoneration could be a boon for Bolger, who will be term-limited out of the House at the end of 2014. But if she finds a prosecutor willing to pursue charges, all bets are off.
Federal investigators to visit U-M over handling of sexual assault cases
Pioneer, The (Big Rapids, MI)
April 8, 2014
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
Investigators from the federal Office of Civil Rights will be on the University of Michigan's campus next week as part of a probe into how the university handles sexual assaults.
The civil rights staffers will meet with student groups and hold open houses for members of the campus community.
U-M announced the visit in e-mails to staff and students Friday and in its official newspaper on Monday.
The civil rights office decided to become involved after two complaints were filed — one by former U-M staffer Douglas Smith — about how the university handles sexual assault complaints. The U.S. Department of Education is investigating how the University of Michigan handled the Brendan Gibbons case, which involved allegations the former Michigan football player raped another student.
The open houses will be held:
* April 15, 8-9 p.m. in the Blain Room of the Michigan Union.
* April 16, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and 8-9 p.m. in Room 2105D of the Michigan Union.
* April 17, 9 a.m.-noon in Room 2105D of the Michigan Union.
In addition, anyone may offer input by e-mail until May 15 by sending a message to UMichinput@ed.gov, or by calling 1-216-522-4970 and asking to speak to a member of the University of Michigan Office of Civil Rights review team (OCR #15-14-2111), the university said. The identity of those who participate in any of the meetings is confidential.
U-M isn't the only Michigan university going through this process.
Office of Civil Rights investigators were on MSU's campus in February to hold similar meetings.
The office is looking at two complaints there, including one involving how MSU handled an alleged sexual assault involving athletes in a dorm in August 2010.
In 2010, two MSU athletes were accused of sexual assault in their dorm room by a female student. MSU police brought the case to the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office, which elected not to issue charges against the men.
In a statement issued in October 2010, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III noted that Assistant Prosecutor Debra Bouck (now Debra Rousseau) had screened the case and found no reason to file charges, and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Lisa McCormick had agreed with the decision.
At U-M, Gibbons, a former kicker for Michigan, was "permanently separated" from the university in December under school policy, the Michigan Daily reported in February.
The fifth-year player who had been taking graduate school classes was removed for "violating the university's Student Sexual Misconduct Policy," based on a letter the campus newspaper said was sent to Gibbons' Florida home on Dec. 19 by Michigan's Office of Student Conflict Resolution. The office deals with disciplinary proceedings against students.
After being Michigan's starting kicker for the past four seasons, Gibbons did not play in the Nov. 30 Ohio State game because of what coach Brady Hoke later described as a muscle problem. That was 10 days after a separate document, reviewed by the Daily, cited there was "a preponderance of evidence" against an individual that "engaged in unwanted or unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature." The Daily identified Gibbons as that individual. The alleged incident took place in November 2009.
Gibbons, 22, did not travel with the team to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., in December. Hoke told reporters that Gibbons was dealing with a family matter in Florida.
Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman has said athletics had no role in the Gibbons case.
Prosecutor in MSU softball case has received police report
Detroit News
June 12, 2015
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state-university/2015/06/12/prosecutor-in-msu-softball-case-has-received-police-report/71131314/
East Lansing – The police report alleging a Michigan State softball coach twice intentionally hit a player with a pitch in batting practice, with the head coach's permission, has been received by the Ingham County prosecutor's office and is under review.
Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings' office confirmed on Friday it has received the report but did not offer a timetable for when a decision on possible charges would be made.
Alyssa McBride, a 22-year-old senior outfielder from Mattawan, said she was hit by two pitches during batting practice near the end of the season. She believed both pitches were aimed at her head, she said. One deeply bruised her left arm and the other struck her wrist.
A team source told The Detroit News they overheard a conversation between head coach Jacquie Joseph and assistant coach Jessica Bograkos in which they discussed hitting McBride with a pitch.
State Police began the investigation under Detective 1st Lt. Chuck Christensen, and the MSU Police Department joined later. Michigan State officials launched an internal investigation being headed by Gerald J. Gleeson II of Miller Canfield in Troy.
Police sources said the report has also been turned over to the Isabella County prosecutor, site of the first of the two alleged incidents. Messages to prosecutor Risa Hunt-Scully's office have not been returned.
Feds: MSU mishandled sexual assault cases
Detroit Free Press
September 01, 2015
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/09/01/feds-msu-mishandled-sexual-assault-reports/71525852/
Michigan State University violated federal law in the handling of sexual assaults on its campus, a federal oversight agency has found.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) said the university did not act promptly to handle two reports of sexual assault. They also found the university did not have proper procedures and policies in place to handle sexual assault reports.
The OCR also found, in interview with students, that many didn’t know who to report sexual assaults to. The OCR also knocked the university’s documentation of internal grievance files and found confusion among the athletic department staff about who should report sexual assault claims to the university’s investigation office.
That all led to the OCR to say the university contributed to there being a sexually hostile environment on campus.
The university and the OCR have entered into an agreement that spells out specific changes that have to be made to policies and procedures. The agency will monitor the university and if the changes aren’t made, they can take administrative actions against the university. It’s unclear exactly what those penalties could be.
Federal law, through Title IX, mandates universities investigate sexual assault and harassment claims
MSU President Lou Anna Simon and other MSU officials said after the report’s release that MSU has been working for several years to improve how they handle sexual assault on campus.
“We need to keep focus on (this issue), not because we have a report and not because the journey with OCR might be closed,” she said during an hour-long press conference. MSU officials spent much of their time during that call arguing that the OCR looked at what was in place at the time and not the current environment.
However, one current MSU student who is a sexual assault survivor said she hasn’t seen the changes.
“I am beyond thrilled that OCR has finally released findings that show the several different ways in which they have violated Title IX,” Emily Kollaritsch, a senior, told the Free Press. “Now it's time for MSU President Simon to admit and claim responsibility for helping foster a unsafe environment for those who have been sexually assaulted on this campus.
“This is a major issue and it seems like the university administration are trying to downplay the importance of OCR's vital findings. This is huge, and should be treated as a very important issue to be addressed instead of being pushed aside with the university claiming they have ‘changed’ but not showing proof in practice, instead of in theory.”
MSU isn’t the only state school being looked at for how it handles sexual assault claims. Both the University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University have open OCR investigations.
The issue of sexual assault on campus has been a hot topic nationally in recent years. The state of Michigan recently entered the conversation as well. First Lady Sue Snyder hosted a one-day summit on the issue and the state has set aside money to fund pilot projects on campuses to deal with the issue.
However, a recent Free Press investigation found that each public university can largely decide how they handle the initial report of a sexual assault, especially when it comes to police involvement.
About half of Michigan’s public universities, including MSU, immediately call the police when a sexual assault is reported. The other half only will call police if the survivor specifically asks them to.
The OCR issued findings in two different cases. One was filed on June 9, 2011 and the other on Jan. 29, 2014.
In both cases, the university was found not to have responded promptly, although the OCR said that both cases, once looked at, were handled well.
One of the cases involved MSU athletes.
In 2010, two MSU athletes were accused of sexual assault in their dorm room by a female student. MSU police brought the case to the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office, which elected not to issue charges against the men.
In a statement issued in October 2010, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III noted that assistant prosecutor Debra Bouck (now Debra Rousseau) had screened the case and found no reason to file charges, and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Lisa McCormick had agreed with the decision.
"I have prosecuted numerous prominent persons – including police officers, attorneys and athletes," Dunnings said at the time. "In each instance, I believe that our office has handled the case regardless of status, and shown neither favor nor prejudice to any person."
In 2010, the Detroit Free Press obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act, reviewed the case file and interview transcript and elected not to write about the accusation because no charges were filed.
Once the OCR opens an investigation, it can look at a wide range of issues dealing with the topic. The OCR conducted numerous interviews and visited campus to meet with students and staff.
“OCR reviewed three years of internal grievance files and found that there was information in many of the files to support that the complainants were subjected to a sexually hostile environment, and in some cases, there was information to support that the university’s failure to respond appropriately might have led the complainant or others to continue to be subjected to a sexually hostile environment,” the agency wrote in its report. “However, because many of the university’s investigative files were incomplete, it is possible the university took additional actions that were not documented.
They also found problem when they talked to students, including athletes.
The athletes told the OCR they got a copy of a document telling how to behave so they wouldn’t “tarnish the Spartan brand.” That document, the OCR said, included various topics around sexual assault.
“OCR noted that there is no definition of consent provided, other than consent when alcohol or drugs are involved. Further, the definition of consent involving alcohol or drugs states in part that “a male who engages in sexual intercourse with a woman when he knows she is under the influence of alcohol or drugs may be guilty of rape…”
The investigation also found confusion in the athletic department over who was supposed to report what and to whom.
In an interview, athletic director Mark Hollis told the OCR that coaches should directly report any cases of sexual harassment they might know of directly to the university’s investigative office. However, basketball coach Tom Izzo, in a separate interview said he thought he was required to tell Hollis about it and Hollis would then “send the report ‘up the ladder.’”
There also were issues discovered with the counseling center, with students sometimes having to wait two to four weeks for an appointment.
Others students "complained that the university was not good at keeping students updated regarding the status of complaint investigations,” the report said.
According to the OCR, the university since has agreed to:
*Revise its non-discrimination and Title IX complaint procedures
*Issue a public anti-harassment statement
*Train staff on the new procedures
*Improve how it documents sexual discrimination complaints and how the university handles them
*Implement bi-annual training for faculty and staff to teach them how to recognize and report sexual harassment
*Evaluate the campus to make sure lighting is good and emergency phones are available
*Examine past cases to make sure they were handled properly.
In the call with the media, MSU officials said they had hired a consultant to review past files and if needed, redo interviews of those involved in the case.
Keith Mumphery expelled in 2016 for MSU sexual misconduct violation
Manistee News Advocate
June 1, 2017
https://infoweb.newsbank.com
EAST LANSING — Former Michigan State football player Keith Mumphery was expelled last year from his graduate studies program and banned from campus for violating the university’s relationship violence and sexual misconduct policy, according to MSU Police documents obtained by the Free Press via the Freedom of Information Act.
The March 2015 incident involving the current Houston Texans wide receiver is the third case of alleged sexual misconduct among current and former MSU football players in the past three years. Only one of them — an April incident involving Auston Robertson — has led to charges, while another case remains ongoing.
Mumphery was accused of sexually assaulting a student in her MSU dorm room on March 17, 2015. The woman reported it to MSU Police that night shortly after the incident. According to the campus police report, the two met a few months before the incident on an online dating site, agreeing to meet at her dorm room weeks later. The report details conflicting accounts of who was the aggressor and whether elements of their sexual behavior were consensual.
Mumphery had completed his MSU playing career at the time of the incident and worked out the next day for NFL representatives during the Spartans’ pro day at the Duffy Daugherty Football Building. Houston selected Mumphery in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft on May 2 that year.
MSU Police forwarded the case to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office and requested third-degree criminal sexual conduct charges in late March that year. On Aug. 24, 2015, the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office under then-prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III — in a decision by assistant prosecutor Steve Kwasnik, according to the police report — declined to press charges because the case could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and the accuser did not return contact.
Multiple attempts to reach Mumphery for comment were unsuccessful. Mumphery’s agent, Kennard McGuire of McGuire Sports World agency, declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Texans said the team is “gathering information” and has no further comment at this time.
MSU cites the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for why it will not comment on any expulsion or Title IX investigation.
The situation with Mumphery is an example of how the punishment can differ from the criminal court — which requires an ability to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt — to the university’s judicial system and Title IX requirements. Criminal cases, whether charges are brought or not, have no bearing on a Title IX probe.
Mumphery’s case continued through the university’s Title IX process and punishment phase by the student conduct system. According to the police report, Denise Maybank, the vice president of MSU’s Division of Student Affairs and Services, e-mailed Mumphery a letter on June 7, 2016, that he violated the university’s policy on relationship violence and sexual misconduct. He wwas informed he could no longer re-enroll at MSU “in any capacity.” Mumphery also has been banned from campus or using university facilities until Dec. 31, 2018. If he violates that order, he can be arrested.
Mumphery has not received his master’s degree, according to MSU.
Federal government Title IX compliance requires all universities to investigate all sexual violence and harassment allegations. They are held to a preponderance of evidence standard typically applied in civil lawsuits, meaning “based on evidence and witness testimony presented, that there is a greater than 50% likelihood that the defendant caused the damage or other wrong,” according to legaldictionary.net.
Mumphery received his bachelor’s degree in communication in May 2014 and was pursuing his master’s degree in the same program. He said he had planned to r-eenroll in graduate classes in January 2016, according to the police report.
The MSU Police report said it cannot be confirmed that Mumphery actually received the letter of policy violation nor has he been served in person. The police investigation was closed June 23, 2016.
Mumphery played for the Spartans in 2010-14 and caught the final touchdown in their win over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl Classic on Jan. 1, 2015, his last game at MSU. He has played two seasons with the Texans.
When a student is found to have violated MSU’s relationship violence and sexual misconduct policy, a three-member Sanction Panel reviews the Title IX findings and potential written statements from both the alleged victim and the accused players. After that meeting, the Sanction Panel determines its punishment. Both the victim and the players can file appeals.
In a separate case involving an alleged Jan. 16 sexual assault, three MSU football players were suspended from the program. They have been found in violation of the sexual violence and misconduct policy and are awaiting the Sanction Panel’s determination of punishment. One player’s attorney told the Free Press her client plans to appeal whatever decision is rendered.
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