Michigan state police rule out claim that Larry Nassar was removed from sex offender registry

Michigan has removed more than 20,000 entries from its sex offender registry, but convicted serial abuser Larry Nassar is not one of them – the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor was not in that system, as a local prosecutor’s office claimed, because he was serving an out-of-state federal prison sentence, according to state police.

On 9 September, the Michigan supreme court ruled that the state’s Sex Offender Registration Act (Sora) cannot be applied retroactively to cases involving offenses committed before the law’s relevant date. Michigan’s state police, as a result, removed more than 20,000 people whose offenses occurred before 1 July 2011 from the agency’s online sex offender database.

One of the agencies to prosecute Nassar, the Eaton county prosecuting attorney’s office, asserted that he was among those removed from the Michigan state police sex offender registry. The office – helmed by Republican Michigan state attorney general candidate Doug Lloyd – even shared a screenshot showing a search for his name returning zero results.

The office also published a statement that read: “The Michigan supreme court’s decision to eliminate Sora requirements for these offenders is deeply concerning.”

The statement was widely reported on in the news media, and it added: “Our community, along with the victims of these crimes, expected the registry to provide a measure of protection and awareness – assurances that have now been removed by the court’s ruling.”

But on Friday, Michigan state police released their own statement saying: “Information suggesting that convicted sex offender Nassar was removed from the sex offender registry by the Michigan state police because of the Smith decision is incorrect.”

US Bureau of Prisons records show Nassar has been imprisoned at Pennsylvania’s Lewisburg federal correctional institute – and “offenders not currently domiciled, temporarily residing, working, incarcerated or going to school in Michigan do not have the duty to register in Michigan under [Sora], and would not be visible on Michigan’s public sex offender registry”, the state police statement said.

“Should the offender later domicile (including being incarcerated), temporarily reside, work or go to school in Michigan, they would be expected to register and be placed on Michigan’s public [sex offender registry] if still required under Sora at that time.”

The Eaton county prosecuting attorney’s office on Friday issued a statement, too, saying : “We must correct our earlier social media post about removal of convicted sex offenders from the Michigan sex offender registry … We never contemplated that one of the most notorious sex offenders in the history of the state would not have been registered despite the law requiring otherwise.”

The office noted that offenses for which Nassar was convicted in Eaton county and neighboring Ingham county had 2009 and 1998 dates associated with them, which “fall within the time frame [of] the recent supreme court order”. At the time he was sentenced for those offenses in 2018, he was incarcerated in Michigan and would have been required to be registered as a sex offender in the state until being transferred into federal custody out of state, according to the Eaton prosecuting attorney’s office’s statement.

“We apologize for the confusion,” the office’s statement said. But the statement also said: “As prosecutors, we have a responsibility to provide information to victims and survivors of sexual assault.”

Michigan lawmakers do not have the authority to reverse the state supreme court’s decision. However, the legislature could pass new legislation that would place the affected offenders back in the database.

Nassar was sentenced in 2018 to as many as 175 years in state and federal prison after being convicted of sexually abusing women and girls for decades while working at Michigan State University and serving as a doctor for Team USA Gymnastics.

As of Friday, Nassar’s projected earliest release date for his federal prison sentence was in 2068, when he would be 104.

More than 150 women and girls have accused Nassar of assault. His accusers include Olympic gold medal-winning gymnasts Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas.

Nassar pleaded guilty in November 2017 to multiple counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He survived being stabbed multiple times in July 2023 while imprisoned.

During his sentencing hearing, his accusers delivered impact statements describing the shame and trauma they said they experienced because of Nassar.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

本文の著作権はThe Guardianにあります。