[Court is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET.]
An arraignment is scheduled Monday morning for former Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon. Eaton County prosecutors say she lied to cops in an investigation connected to disgraced former doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison after facing accusations of sexually abusing more than 100 women and girls under the guise of medical treatment. Nassar did this while working as a doctor for MSU and USA Gymnastics. Simon allegedly didn’t tell police about what she knew regarding a 2014 Title IX complaint filed by medical student Amanda Thomashow.
This is more fallout from the wide-ranging abuse case. Nassar pleaded guilty in Michigan courts last year and was sentenced in early 2018. A total of 156 survivors either spoke or were represented in his Ingham County sentencing hearing.
Thomashow’s 2014 complaint did not result in charges against Nassar. The doctor only faced charges after more women, including Rachel Denhollander, spoke out. Both USA Gymnastics and MSU have been accused of doing nothing about the abuse.
“The investigation done by MSU was brief and sloppy,” Thomashow said. “It left me feeling disposable and worthless.”
Simon resigned as university president in January.
“I have tried to make it not about me,” she said in a statement at the time. “I urge those who have supported my work to understand that I cannot make it about me now. Therefore, I am tendering my resignation as president according to the terms of my employment agreement.”
Nassar is currently in prison, serving a 60-year sentence after pleading guilty in a federal child pornography case. This is in addition to the sentences he received for sexual abuse, which will ensure that he spends the rest of his life behind bars.
[Screengrab via WOOD-TV]
