Three of the accusers of Larry Nassar spoke out in a press conference Wednesday after his plea hearing.
Rachel Denhollander, the former gymnast who filed the first criminal complaint against Larry Nassar was there. She was joined by two other accusers, Michigan State University gymnast Lindsey Lemke, and Adrian College gymnast Kaylee Lorincz. They are among more than 100 women suing Nassar in federal court.
The women were joined by their attorneys, John Manly, Stephen Drew, and James White. The firms represent 105 women named in the federal civil lawsuit.
In a media advisory issued Tuesday afternoon, the lawyers said "MSU and its administrators could have prevented the Nassar scandal if they had simply followed Title IX and the mandatory reporting laws. They ignored complaints of his misconduct going back to 1997. When they finally conducted a Title IX investigation of Nassar in 2014, they botched it and allowed him to continue allegedly molesting dozens of women and girls for two more years, including Team USA gymnasts."
The lawyers are calling on MSU to release the findings of an internal investigation conducted by the New York law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. They say the university paid the firm more than $1million dollars.
The media advisory states, "The University’s refusal to make the results of this review public stands in stark contrast to the actions taken by Penn State University in response to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal in 2012. MSU’s refusal to make the facts contained in their secret internal investigation public should not be allowed by a public agency, funded by the taxpayers. MSU’s continuing lack of transparency and cover-up of misconduct by University administrators demonstrate the need for an independent and thorough investigation of MSU, its Administration, and athletic department."
Wednesday, the attorneys said that three institutions failed children; USA Gymnastics who they say knew about the claims against Nassar in 2015 but did not alert MSU, US Olympic Committee who has not commented yet on this case, and Michigan State University's administration who the attorneys say knew of allegations against Nassar, and when they could have stopped if they did nothing. The attorneys also accused MSU of hiding information.
Attorney James White said, "Finding justice for these young women began today."
When the girls talked about their experiences with those organizations they all commented that they were told to keep quiet. Lindsey Lemke said she was told by her Coach at MSU that "if we were approached by anyone regarding the Nassar investigation we were told not to talk."
She also said that she did not feel that her Coach or the University supported her, that they defended Nassar.
Rachel Denhollander read from a prepared statement. She said she was grateful for the army of women who stopped a pedophile. She also took a direct punch at USA Gymnastics and Michigan State. She said to MSU,"Your words of care and concern ring hollow and I don't want to hear them unless they are backed up by action."
The third woman there was a defendant that was always referred to as "Jane Doe E." Wednesday, she came forward. She wanted to be on the record with her identity. Kaylee Lorincz said she was tired of being labeled and came out and said she was sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar around her 13th birthday.
She also took a punch at MSU stating that she always wanted to go there as a little girl but now it just reminds her of a place where she was assaulted. She said that she has even changed her degree of choice to criminal justice.
