EAST LANSING, Mich. – The internal documents related to the Larry Nassar scandal will be released to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
Michigan State University’s Board of Trusted voted unanimously Friday, Dec. 15, to turn over the documents, which the Attorney General’s Office has sought for nearly six years.
Related: Lawmakers urge Michigan State University to release Nassar documents in ‘incomplete’ investigation
Survivors have lobbied for years to see the timeline and history of the decisions regarding Nassar at MSU.
Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked the school to release the 6,000 documents to find out what MSU knew about the abuse. She ended her investigation in 2021 because the university refused to provide documents related to the scandal. Nessel issued a new request in April for the documents to be released.
“This was an opportunity to do the right thing and move on to the next chapter of our healing at MSU,” said Dr. Rema Vassar.
The documents could allow Nessel to reopen an investigation into Michigan State University and its role in Nassar’s crimes. Nessel said it will take about four weeks to get the information from the university and it will take some time for her office to go through the documents.
Nessel is hoping the information will get survivors and families the answers they’ve been waiting for.
Nassar was sentenced in 2018 to 40 to 175 years in prison in 2018 after he admitted to sexually abusing some of the nation’s top gymnasts for years under the guise of medical treatment. The 54-year-old was initially charged with more than 20 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct but instead agreed to a plea deal.
More than 150 victims delivered impact statements during the seven-day sentencing hearing.
The university has been criticized for its handling of the Nassar investigation and its dealings with survivors in the aftermath of his arrest and conviction.
A lawsuit was filed in 2023 against MSU that claimed school officials made “secret decisions” about releasing documents in the case.
Nessel released the following statement:
“The students, the MSU community at-large, and most importantly, the victims of Larry Nassar have long been owed this transparency. I am encouraged to see the MSU Board of Trustees finally make the right decision on a long-promised, and long-delayed, measure of transparency.
“We appreciate the opportunity to review these documents and will reopen and expedite our investigation as soon as they are received.”
Attorney General Dana Nessel
Former Attorney General Bill Schuette, who served from 2011-19 and opened the investigation into MSU, released the following statement:
“It’s been a long wait, one challenging for the Sister Survivors, but the MSU Board of Trustees have finally released the important documents I asked for in 2018 concerning the horrific behavior of Larry Nassar. I and my team, led by Angie Povilaitis, put Larry Nassar behind bars and the release of these files is an important step forward towards an open and transparent review of the actions within MSU.”
Bill Schuette
