Former Michigan State coach convicted in case tied to Nassar

A jury on Friday convicted a former Michigan State University gymnastics coach of lying to police when she denied that two teen athletes told her of sexual abuse by sports doctor Larry Nassar in 1997, nearly 20 years before he was charged.

Kathie Klages, 65, was found guilty of a felony and a misdemeanor in a Lansing courthouse where Nassar was sentenced more than two years ago. Klages faces up to four years in prison at her April 15 sentencing.

She is the second person other than Nassar to be convicted of charges related to his serial molestation of young women and girls under the guise of medical treatment.

“I am glad that the enablers are being held accountable, and I hope that it’s showing the world that we’ve got to do better,” said Larissa Boyce, one of the women who testified against Klages. “Sexual assault needs to be taken seriously.”

Klages, of Mason, resigned in 2017 after she was suspended for defending Nassar when the scandal first became public. Prosecutors said she lied in 2018 when she told investigators that Boyce and another girl, who were in a campus gymnastics program but not MSU gymnasts, had not reported Nassar’s sexual misconduct to her.

The jury “got it wrong,” defense attorney Mary Chartier said while she, family members and supporters consoled Klages. If the case had not involved Nassar, she said, Klages would never have been found guilty.

Klages testified that she did not remember being told about abuse. She said she was “shocked” when she first learned in 2017 that one of the teens said she had previously told Klages about Nassar, whom she considered a “very good friend, professionally.”