Michigan State administrator arrested amid Nassar probe
Authorities launched an investigation into MSU, leading to the arrest of 70-year-old William Strampel, the former dean of osteopathic medicine at Michigan State University.
A Michigan State University administrator who oversaw the clinic where disgraced former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar worked is now facing criminal charges of his own for allegedly storing nude photos of female students on his work computer and inappropriately touching a student.
William Strampel, who was dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine until late last year, was charged Tuesday with a felony, a high court misdemeanor and two misdemeanors. He is due to be arraigned in the afternoon, the Associated Press reported.
Investigators who looked at Strampel's computer found around 50 images of "bare vaginas, nude and semi-nude women, sex toys, and pornography," according to the Detroit Free Press, citing a court affidavit.
The newspaper also said, citing the affidavit, that Strampel tried to solicit nude photos from at least one student and approached a woman from behind and grabbed her buttocks during the college’s annual ball in 2010. The woman later went on and told police that she never reported the incident at the time because she was afraid she would be removed from the school.
The 70-year-old Strampel also told police last year he never followed up after ordering Nassar in 2014 to have a third person present when providing treatment to "anything close to a sensitive area."
"Despite his representation of his (and the College's) intended response to the allegations against Nassar, Strampel did not actually enforce or monitor the protocols, nor did he alert other employees in the sports medicine clinic about the existence of the protocols, let alone order that they be followed with respect to Nassar," the affidavit says.
Strampel was charged with neglect of duty, fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and misconduct of a public official. The charges carry sentences of one, two and up to five years in prison, respectively.
Nassar, meanwhile will spend his life in prison for molesting patients under the guise of treatment, in a scandal that has shaken the USA Gymnastics program. Nassar’s accusers included some of the top names in the sport: U.S. Olympic gymnasts Mckayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles.
A spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette declined to comment to the Associated Press on Strampel’s charges. A news conference is scheduled for Tuesday, two months after Schuette appointed a special assistant attorney general to investigate.
Strampel is the first person besides Nassar to be charged in connection with the worst sexual abuse case in sports history. Nassar pleaded guilty to molesting patients and possessing child pornography. Strampel's arrest Monday was first reported by the Detroit Free Press, and WILX-TV earlier reported that state police were seen outside Strampel's home in DeWitt, north of Lansing.
Strampel was dean until he announced a leave of absence for medical reasons in December. In letting Nassar resume seeing patients, he also said any skin-to-skin contact should be minimal and needed to be explained in detail.
Nassar was fired in 2016 for violating the rule. His dismissal came less than a month after former gymnast Rachael Denhollander filed a criminal complaint saying Nassar had sexually assaulted her with his hands while treating her for back pain years earlier.
Strampel told a campus detective and FBI agent in 2017 that he did not check to see if Nassar was following the guidance because Nassar had been "exonerated" in an investigation of a patient's complaint and the imposed guidelines were "health care 101." At least 12 reported assaults occurred after the probe ended, including many during which Nassar made ungloved skin-to-skin contact when no chaperone was present, according to a university police report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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