Larry Nassar victims sue Michigan State over ‘secret decisions’ made about releasing of documents
Victims of former Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassar filed a lawsuit Thursday over what they say were “secret decisions” school officials made regarding the releasing of documents in the case.
The disgraced sports medicine doctor was sentenced in 2018 to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal sexual misconduct.
Nassar is believed to have sexually molested hundreds of girls and young women, including Olympic superstars Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, and McKayla Maroney. He admitted to molesting the young athletes by using his trusted medical position under the guise of treatment.
MSU has been widely criticized for its handling of the Nassar investigation by ignoring or dismissing complaints about the disgraced doctor.
Most of the assaults occurred in Michigan at Nassar’s home, at the campus clinic, and at a gym. In May 2018, the school agreed to pay $500 million to settle lawsuits filed by his victims.
On Thursday, a group of victims and their families filed a civil lawsuit against MSU alleging the university and its trustees violated the Open Meetings Act and the Michigan Constitution.
“We contend that board members made a behind-closed-doors secret decision not to release the records in blatant violation of the Open Meetings Act,” the group’s attorney, Azzam Elder, said in a news release.
“They followed that up with violations of the Freedom of Information Act when we requested emails that might show they discussed and made a closed-door decision on the matter in violation of law,” he added.
The group known as POSSE, or Parents of Sister Survivors Engage, is seeking to “force MSU to follow laws designed to protect the public from government officials who try to do things behind closed doors to avoid public scrutiny,” according to the lawsuit.
They also want MSU to turn over emails and communications about decisions made by trustees that have been kept private.
“This is about who knew what, when at the university,” Melissa Brown Hudecz, one of his victims, said prior to the filing of the lawsuit.
“We can’t heal as a community until we know that everyone who enabled a predator is accountable. By protecting the 6,000 secret documents and anyone named in them, the board is adding to survivors’ trauma with their lack of institutional accountability,” she said.
Earlier this month, the former sports doctor was stabbed multiple times at the United States Penitentiary Coleman, a high-security federal prison in Florida.
The stabbing was reportedly provoked by a remark he made while watching the Wimbledon tennis tournament on television.
With News Wire Services
