LANSING, Mich. (WSYM) - Of the many mistakes made in the Nassar investigation, one of the biggest was Meridian Township Police choosing not to charge him when Brianne Randall-Gay reported him in 2004. Today the township started working with her to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. FOX 47's Marcus Dash tells us what they're doing.
Even with an apology from the Meridian Township Police Department, sexual assault survivor Brianne Randall-Gay says she is still healing. Walking into a meeting with police Friday gave her flashbacks of when she filed a sexual assault report against Larry Nassar fourteen years ago.
"It has been a difficult process for me, but the fact that I can make change to prevent this from happening to another child is really helping me," said Brianne Randall-Gay.
She wants to do that by helping create an environment where kids aren't afraid to talk about things like sexual abuse.
"Giving kids the information and the empowerment to speak out if they feel that their rights are violated and know that they'll be believed," said Randall-Gay.
Randall-Gay wasn't believed in 2004. Meridian township leaders want to work with her and the Firecracker Foundation make sure predators like Nassar don't slip through the cracks again.
"Creating an environment where survivors can feel safe in telling the story of what happened to them so that we can take steps to go after the perpetrators," said Meridian Township Treasurer Julie Brixie.
The next step will be to get the public involved. They're invited to ask questions and share their suggestions on June 22nd.
Meridian Township is reviewing all sexual assault cases going back eighteen years. A report should be out next week. We'll have an update when that happens.
