Sex abuser scandal far from over

Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. — Sports doctor Larry Nassar is on his way to prison for the rest of his life for molesting scores of young athletes, but the scandal is far from over as victims, lawmakers and a judge demand to know why he wasn’t stopped years ago.

Nassar, a 54-year-old former member of Michigan State’s sports medicine staff, has admitted penetrating elite gymnasts and other athletes with his fingers while he was supposedly treating them for injuries. During Wednesday’s sentencing, a prosecutor deemed him “possibly the most prolific serial child sex abuser in history.”

On Thursday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said her agency is investigating Michigan State and “will hold MSU accountable for any violations of federal law.”

That announcement came after senators from both parties called for the creation of a select committee to investigate the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said the Senate should review how Nassar was given unsupervised access to the gymnasts.

Lou Anna Simon, who resigned under pressure Wednesday as Michigan State’s president, insisted, “There is no coverup.” But the university last week asked Michigan’s attorney general to conduct a review. And in sentencing Nassar, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina called for “a massive investigation as to why there was inaction.”