Ex-dean with oversight of Nassar gets year in jail
LANSING, Mich. — A former Michigan State University dean with oversight of now-imprisoned sports doctor Larry Nassar was ordered Wednesday to serve up to a year in jail after being convicted of neglect of duty and misconduct in office that stemmed from claims he sexually harassed students.
William Strampel learned his fate during a hearing in a Lansing courtroom, nearly two months after the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s exdean was convicted of those charges. He was acquitted of the more serious criminal sexual conduct charge.
Strampel, 71, faced up to five years in prison on the felony misconduct conviction, resulting from accusations he used his public office to sexually harass, demean and proposition students who met with him to discuss academic issues.
He also was convicted of willfully neglecting a duty to monitor Nassar after protocols were put in place requiring that a third person be present in the exam room for sensitive procedures and limiting skin-to-skin contact — misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in prison.
Defense attorney John Dakmak recommended probation, citing concerns about his client’s health and service to the school, state and nation.
Strampel was the first person charged after Michigan’s attorney general launched an investigation in 2017 into how Michigan State handled complaints against Nassar, who pleaded guilty to molesting patients and possessing child pornography.