Rachael Denhollander was the first sexual assault victim of Dr. Larry Nassar to go public and that opened the door to hundreds more victims to come forward.
She’s still on the forefront of change in Michigan laws that have been changed to help all sexual assault victims. They previously had only two years to file a civil lawsuit against their attacker to collect money damages. That has now been extended to ten years.
Kristi Uribe waited some two years for her sexual assault case to go through criminal court. She was shut out of suing her attacker for money damages until now.
She was sexually assaulted in the summer of 2015 while working on Mackinac Island. Tim Blackwood would eventually plead no contest to Criminal Sexual Conduct in the 4th Degree.
He served six months in jail in Shiawassee County near his home and was allowed work release. He resigned his job as a Howell firefighter as a result of his case. He still runs his own fire consulting business. Blackwood’s attorney said they have no comment.
More legislative action is expected this fall in Lansing. Many would like to see Governmental Immunity removed. With that still in place, it makes it much more difficult to sue anyone who commits a sexual assault in a governmental setting and collect money damages from the governmental entity.
