A former Michigan state president accused of lying to police about Larry Nassar

Former Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon has been charged with lying to the police during an investigation into the actions of serial sexual abuser Larry Nassar – the third former or current leader campus other than Nassar to face criminal charges in the scandal.

Simon, who resigned under pressure in January, has been meeting with state police investigators on May 1st. She is accused of making two false and misleading statements: she was unaware of the nature of a sexual misconduct complaint that triggered the Title IX investigation by the school in 2014. of Nassar, and that she only knew that a sports medicine doctor, and not Nassar himself, was currently being investigated.

He is convicted of two crimes and two counts of lying to a peace officer, Simon, age 71, risking up to four years in prison. The Mason resident is scheduled to appear Monday in Eaton County, near Lansing.

The Associated Press left a message soliciting comments from Simon's lawyer, Lee Silver. University spokeswoman Emily Guerrant said Simon – who remains a faculty member despite his resignation from the presidency – is taking an immediate, unpaid leave "to focus on his legal situation".

Simon is the fifth person to face criminal charges following Nassar's convictions for assaulting young female athletes on the pretext of treatment. Many others have lost their jobs or been sued.

In August, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette accused Kathie Klages, former head coach of the MSU gymnastics, of lying to an investigator when she denied that witnesses told her years ago, that she had been sexually assaulted by Nassar. In March, the former dean of the Osteopathic School of Medicine, William Strampel, was accused of neglecting his obligation to enforce the restrictions on the examination hall. imposed on Nassar as a result of the 2014 Title IX investigation.

This investigation, initiated by a patient, allowed the school to clean Nassar.

In Texas, Steve Penny, former president of USA Gymnastics, was charged with falsifying evidence last month. Debra Van Horn, a former coach of sports medicine, has been accused of "acting as a party" with Nassar in the sexual assault of a child.

Hundreds of girls and women said that Nassar had assaulted them while he was a doctor, especially when he was working for USA Gymnastics, Michigan State and Indianapolis, which trains Olympians. US. Nassar, 55, pleaded guilty last year to sexually assaulting nine victims and possessing child pornography, and her sentence amounts to life imprisonment.