Larry Nassar investigation comes to 'disappointing close' after AG reviews 6,000 documents
EAST LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - After reviewing more than 6,000 documents related to how Michigan State University handled the sex abuse reports against Dr. Larry Nassar, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a "disappointing close to" her office’s investigation.
According to Nessel, MSU previously provided more than 105,000 pages of documents but would not release thousands of documents, citing attorney-client privilege protection. The school’s Board of Trustees finally voted to release the remaining documents last December, and Nessel said her office received them in March and April.
Nessel said no new, relevant information was found during the analysis of the documents. She said she was shocked by this because it took so long for the school to release the files.
"Not all of the communications were preserved," Nessel said, referring to text messages and emails that were deleted prior. She added that she believes her office now has custody of all documents that the school kept.
Nessel said that "a significant number, if not a majority, of the documents did not appear to us to be covered by the privilege." According to Nessel, some documents weren't even related to the investigation. She noted that there was no reason for the university to withhold the documents for as long as it did.
"While I appreciate that MSU eventually cooperated, the withheld documents provided victims with a sense of false hope, for no justifiable reason," she said.
Troves of Nassar investigative documents released by MSU Board
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has repeatedly asked for the documents to be released, but the school previously declined. She said she wanted the more-than-6,000 documents to see how the investigation was handled. Nassar, a former sports doctor at MSU and with the USA Gymnastics, is currently in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting seven people.
"Simply put, there remains no fulfilling answer to the question of how this abuse was able to be perpetuated on so many, for so long, without MSU, or anyone else, putting a stop to it," she said. "This is a disappointing close to our years-long investigation into the abuse that hundreds of young women were subjected to over the course of more than a decade."
Nessel said she will be releasing the documents, though some may be redacted.
Nassar, a former sports doctor at MSU and with the USA Gymnastics, is currently in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting seven people.
MSU has been criticized for its handling of the Nassar investigation and its dealings with survivors in the aftermath of his arrest and conviction. During victim impact statements during Nassar's trial in 2018, several athletes testified that over the course of Nassar's more than two decades of sexual abuse they had told adults what was happening, including coaches and athletic trainers, but that it went unreported.
More than 100 women, including Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, collectively sought more than $1 billion from the federal government for the FBI's failure to stop Nassar when agents became aware of allegations against him in 2015. He was arrested by Michigan State University police in 2016, more than a year later.
During a press conference Wednesday, Nessel spoke to Nassar's victims, saying, "While the investigation is closed, this is not where this story ends. You have created a sisterhood that has worked together to create systemic changes, not just here in Michigan, but nationwide to ensure that schools are better prepared to prevent, investigate and stop abuse, to ensure that survivors are believed, and treated better in the judicial system and to change the culture in how sexual assault is seen by the public at large."