EAST LANSING, Mich. UPDATE 12:11PM Friday Jan 19, 2018
John Manly, attorney for some of the women suing Nassar, Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics, Twistars and others released the following statement regarding the MSU Board of Trustees request for a review by Attorney General Bill Schuette's office:
“This is too little too late. MSU, its President and Board first misrepresented they did an investigation with a former prosecutor. That turned out to be a lie. MSU until now has fiercely resisted all calls of Nassar’s victims, victim advocates political leaders and the press for the sunshine of an independent investigation. The only reason Ms. Simon asked for one today is because MSU’s culpability has been exposed. If the leadership of MSU had any decency they would resign as a sign of contrition for their misdeeds.”
Mediation involving the plaintiffs and defendants in late 2017 failed. U.S. District Court Judge Gordon J. Quist has ordered a scheduling conference for January 24 with attorneys for the plaintiffs and defendants in all the civil lawsuits involving the Nassar case. No trial date has been scheduled yet. FOX 47 News and fox47news.com will keep you updated.
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UPDATE 11:57AM
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette released the following statement to wilx.com regarding the request by the MSU Board of Trustees for a review of the Larry Nassar scandal:
"A full and complete review, report and recommendation of what occurred at Michigan State University is required and I will provide that. However, this week and the coming weeks are time for the survivors of Larry Nassar to have their day in court, and I refuse to upstage their time for healing.
My focus up to this point has been the following:
1. Prosecuting Larry Nassar, which resulted in his conviction of 10 felony counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree;
2. Seeking a sentence that will ensure Nassar will remain behind bars for the rest of his life where he can never harm another woman or young girl in her tender years;
3. Ensuring that victim impact statements from all survivors be allowed, sentencing so that the enormity of his crimes would be known;
4. Asking for a full report from Michigan State University, which I was told didn't exist.
The Detroit News in an editorial today called me wrong and indifferent, nothing could be further from the truth, and they should issue a retraction."
FOX 47 News and fox47news.com will keep you updated on this developing story.
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s calls for Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon to resign are mounting, the MSU Board of Trustees is asking Attorney General Bill Schuette for a review of the events surrounding Larry Nassar.
"Although we have confidence in the integrity of the various reviews conducted by law enforcement, subject matter experts, and outside counsel to the university, we are making this request because we believe your review may be needed to answer the public's questions concerning MSU's handling of the Nassar situation", said the board in a letter to Schuette's office Friday morning.
The request comes as Larry Nassar's survivors give impact statements at his sentencing hearing. Many have called out MSU and President Simon during their testimony, accusing the university of not taking the necessary action to stop Nassar.
"After watching many of these heartbreaking statements and reading accounts about them, we have concluded that only a review by your office can resolve the questions in a way that the victims, their families, and the public will deem satisfactory and that will help all those affected by Nassar's horrible crimes to heal."
Several state Lawmakers, MSU's student newspaper, the Lansing State Journal, and the Detroit News have called on Simon to step down in the wake of the Nassar scandal. In a statement to FOX 47 News, Simon said this week's testimony has made her listen to the survivors and the community in a different way.
"It is clear to the board and me that a review by the Attorney General's Office can provide the answers people need. As I told the Attorney General in December, MSU will fully cooperate with any inquiry by law enforcement authorities. I hope this review will help the survivors and the entire MSU community heal and move forward."
