MASON, Mich. — Former Michigan State University team doctor Larry Nassar will stand trial for three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a judge ruled Friday morning.
More than three dozen women have accused Nassar of sexually assaulting them during the time he served as a team doctor for several Michigan State sports teams and the U.S. gymnastics team.
Friday’s preliminary hearing dealt with three counts of first-degree assault involving girls who were 13 or younger when the incidents occurred. A district court judge found sufficient probable cause to send the case to trial in a circuit court after hearing two hours of testimony from one of the three complainants.
The majority of the women filing suit against Nassar allege he abused them while serving in his role as a medical professional. The woman who testified Friday morning never attended Michigan State nor saw Nassar for medical help. She alleged that Nassar, a family friend, assaulted her on multiple occasions in his home when she was in elementary school.
The woman also said that a decade ago she spoke with Dr. Gary Stollak — then a Michigan State professor and practicing psychologist — about the abuse. She alleged that Stollak met with her and Nassar on separate occasions to discuss her claims. Stollak retired in 2010 after 47 years at the university. Serving as a witness for the defense, he said he didn’t recall counseling the woman but that he had disposed of all his old records after retiring.
Earlier this week, gymnastics coach Kathie Klages retired one day after the athletic department suspended her indefinitely. Multiple women have claimed in lawsuits that they told Klages about Nassar assaulting them in the late 1990s and that she discouraged them from reporting it to any authorities.
Michigan State fired Nassar in September 2016 in response to a report that he was accused of sexual abuse during his time working with the U.S. gymnastics team. Nassar faces up to life in prison if he’s convicted of the three crimes sent to circuit court on Friday.
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