Education Department blasts Michigan State’s handling of Nassar cases

Michigan State University’s failure to prevent multiple sexual assaults by former sports doctor Larry Nassar indicates “a lack of institutional control,” according to a report by the U.S. Department of Education.

The findings criticize the university for not taking immediate, meaningful action against Nassar, The Associated Press reported Wednesday after obtaining a copy of the document.

{mosads}“The university’s persistent failure to take swift and decisive action to detect and stop Nassar’s two-decade long predatory and abusive behavior indicates a lack of institutional control, especially in light of the credible information reported to institutional officials at several points over many years,” the report said. “This failure, alone, clearly demonstrates the institution’s most serious administrative impairments.”

The AP said it received a copy of the report issued on Dec. 14, 2018, from Michigan State on Wednesday.

Nassar, who was also a USA Gymnastics doctor, was sentenced last year to between 40 and 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to counts of criminal sexual misconduct. He was accused of sexually abusing more than 150 women and girls under his care.

In a separate case, Nassar was sentenced to 60 years after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

The Department of Education report said the university didn’t comply with the Clery Act, a federal statute that requires universities receiving federal student aid to disclose information about campus crime and public safety.

The university didn’t disclose accurate crime statistics because the statistics it provided didn’t include sex crimes committed by Nassar, according to the AP’s copy of the report.

“These violations date back to at least 1997, and involve victims, many of whom were minors at the time of the abuse, who reported these incidents to trusted adults, including coaches and athletic trainers,” the report said.

Michigan State spokeswoman Emily Guerrant told the AP that the university is “committed to cooperating” with the Education Department “and is carefully reviewing the preliminary findings.”

“Our staff will continue to focus on making improvements to ensure accurate and transparent reporting on campus crime policy and statistics. It is our goal to be in full compliance with Clery Act requirements, which is one of the many ways we are working to strengthen campus safety,” Guerrant added.