Trump administration fines Michigan State University $4.5M in Larry Nassar case

The Education Department on Thursday announced that Michigan State University will pay $4.5 million over its handling of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, according to the Detroit Free Press.

In addition to the record fine, the school must investigate how many school officials were aware of the reports against Nassar and who failed to act on them.

{mosads}MSU must also hire an outside law firm to review any decisions its Title IX office makes on sexual assault cases and compile a report to the federal government, as well as a regular report of all cases and decisions to the university’s board and president.

“What happened at MSU was abhorrent … so was the university’s response to [Nassar’s and former Dean William Strampel’s] crimes,” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in an announcement, referencing the former dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, who was sentenced to a year in jail for using his power to proposition female students.

The university argued as recently as last month that it should not be held legally responsible for Nassar, writing in a court filing that “although Nassar’s actions were repugnant and merit the heavy criminal penalties imposed upon him, the law does not support Plaintiffs’ attempts to hold the MSU Defendants liable for his wrongs,” according to the newspaper.

Former MSU President Lou Anna Simon currently faces charges of lying to the police in their investigation of Nassar, who has himself been sentenced to more than 100 years in prison for abuse involving at least 250 victims.