Behind the MSU Sex Scandal: A Boss Charged With Sex Abuse Too
Larry Nassar's former supervisor, William Strampel, was arraigned Tuesday on charges that include criminal sexual misconduct.
March 27, 2018 at 05:20 PM
3 minute read
Shutterstock.com
Survivors of convicted sports doctor Larry Nassar's sexual abuse began to find answers Tuesday as to how Michigan State University and its in-house lawyers allowed a notorious pedophile to abuse student athletes for two decades under the guise of treatment.
One key reason: Nassar's boss was allegedly in on it.
Special prosecutor William Forsyth Tuesday arraigned Nassar's former boss, William Strampel, on charges that include criminal sexual misconduct, willful neglect of duty and misconduct by a public official. Strampel served as dean of the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, where Nassar worked.
Strampel used his position “to harass, discriminate, proposition, sexually assault and solicit pornographic videos of female students,” according to an article in The Detroit News quoting investigators. He also used it to support Nassar against critics.
When an MSU in-house lawyer investigated Nassar in 2014 on a sex abuse complaint, Strampel backed both Nassar and the doctor's treatments as legitimate.
Now, The Detroit News said, investigators discovered pornographic videos on Strampel's work computer at MSU. They included at least one video of Nassar performing his purported “treatment” on a young female patient, according to a police affidavit.
Strampel's lawyer declined comment, the newspaper said.
Forsyth, the special prosecutor, was appointed in January by state Attorney General William Schuette to look into how MSU handled the Nassar crisis.
“What they [school trustees] wanted us to do was find out how MSU failed the survivors of Larry Nassar and how he was able to prey upon and victimize so many young women and girls for so long,” Forsyth said at a press conference. He said his investigation is ongoing.
Morgan McCaul, a Nassar victim, told The Detroit News she was happy that Strampel was being held accountable. “This is what survivors have been waiting for, for years,” McCaul said. “This man created an environment within the MSU osteopathic department in which the most prolific pedophile in sports history was allowed to thrive.”
Nassar, convicted of assaulting hundreds of young women, is spending the rest of his life in prison. Strampel, if convicted, faces up to eight years behind bars.
Strampel has been replaced as dean, but remains on the university's tenured faculty, although the school has begun proceedings to fire him.
He is also accused of failing to implement protocols put in place in 2014 to monitor Nassar.
The sexual scandal has led to hundreds of women filing ongoing suits against MSU, Nassar, Strampel and other school employees.
It also led to the resignations under pressure of former MSU president Lou Anna Simon and former general counsel Robert Noto, who failed to detect and resolve the issues before they exploded into a crisis.
Acting general counsel Kristine Zayko did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the arrest of Strampel. A year ago this month Zayko hired Maria Dwyer and her Detroit law firm, Clark Hill, to represent other MSU employees named as defendants in the Nassar victims' civil suits. But the contract excluded Strampel, even though he's a defendant.
Now Clark Hill's John Dakmak is representing Strampel on the new charges, but the university is not paying the legal fees.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllEvaluating the Biden Administration's Business and Human Rights Agenda
10 minute readConservative Groups Challenge Corporate DEI Initiatives With Recent Success
7 minute readNovel Suit Calling Workday's AI-Driven Hiring Tool Biased Advances, Setting Up Precedent-Setting Showdown
'Deeply Troubling': Tesla Sued Over 'Racially Hostile Work Environment' Amid Surge of Racial Discrimination Litigation
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250