Reports of sexual misconduct by Dr. Larry Nassar reached at least 14 Michigan State University representatives in the two decades before his arrest, the Detroit News reports. 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. “I was informed that a sports medicine doctor was under investigation,” said Simon, who appeared 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 others who were aware of alleged abuse were athletic trainers, assistant coaches, a university police detective and an official who is now an MSU lawyer.
The accounts show MSU missed many opportunities 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 but faces more than 150 civil suits that 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 Thursday for the third day of a sentencing hearing for seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. Nassar’s case has drawn comparisons to that of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State 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 2016 became the first to publicly accuse Nassar of molesting her, says MSU officials should be held accountable.