Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison last year after more than 150 women and girls said in court that he sexually abused them over the past two decades.
The review that led to the scathing Education Department report -- released to the university last month -- was initiated in February 2018 after published reports about Nassar's sexual crimes.
"The university's persistent failure to take swift and decisive action to detect and stop Nassar's two-decade long predatory and abusive behavior indicates a lack of institutional control, especially in light of the credible information reported to institutional officials at several points over many years," the report said.
"This failure, alone, clearly demonstrates the institution's most serious administrative impairments."
The 47-page report looks at the university's compliance with the Clery Act, a federal law requiring the disclosure of all crimes on and near campuses by colleges that participate in federal student aid programs.
The law is intended to provide students and staff with timely information on crimes so they "can make informed decisions about their educational and employment choices and play active roles in their own personal safety and to secure and protect their personal property," the report said. "
Here are five takeaways from the report along with the university response:
At least 11 sex crimes committed by Nassar since 1997 were not included in MSU crime stats
The report called the 11 criminal offenses a "representative sample of incidents" and said additional cases may be uncovered.
"None of these crimes were ever recorded through any of the university's normal incident reporting processes, and, as a result, were never included in any of Michigan State's crime statistics disclosures," the report said.
"These violations date back to at least 1997, and involve victims, many of whom were minors at the time of the abuse, who reported these incidents to trusted adults, including coaches and athletic trainers."
At least five victims reported the crimes to university security authorities
In each of the five cases, the university failed to issue timely warnings to the campus community about the sex offenses.
"Each of these crime victims reported conduct that clearly rose to the level of a forcible sex offense or an incident of fondling," the report said.
"Moreover, the crimes reported by these individuals, as well as those crimes reported by each of the other survivors whose cases are summarized ... unquestionably posed a serious, ongoing threat to campus community members, and, most specifically, to female patients of MSU Sports Medicine."
There were problems with the university's sexual assault program
The sexual assault program "did not produce or maintain adequate documentation about crimes that were reported, and did not provide data for inclusion in the university's crime statistics because officials and staff believed that they were exempt from Clery Act reporting requirements," the report said.
When news of Nassar's crimes became public about 2016, the sexual assault program saw an increase in "reporting that proved to be so high as to be overwhelming," the report said.
"Therefore, it stands to reason that Michigan State's exclusion of those crimes from its crime statistics resulted in the under-reporting of crimes."
The university failed to warn students and staff about other crimes
The report cited 21 crimes, mostly burglaries and robberies between 2011 and 2016.
"An evaluation of the crimes ... clearly shows that scores of Michigan State students were repeatedly victimized, in a similar manner, by similarly described suspects," the report said.
"Yet, instead of warning the community as required by the Clery Act, Michigan State allowed robberies of expensive electronic devices and brazen burglaries of occupied dorm rooms -- often directed against a particular ethnic demographic -- to continue unabated."
The report said the findings showed "serious violations of the Clery Act" and recommended that Michigan State "re-examine its campus safety and ... policies and procedures on an annual basis to ensure that they accurately reflect current institutional practices and are compliant with federal regulations."
The university says it is 'carefully reviewing' the findings
In a statement Wednesday, MSU said it was cooperating with the Education Department and reviewing the preliminary findings.
"The safety and well-being of our campus community is our top priority," MSU acting President Satish Udpa said.
"The Nassar crimes caused so much pain to so many people, and we have more work to do to address those issues and support the survivors and our community. We welcome the opportunity to work with experts to review and strengthen areas as we renew our commitment to improve."
MSUsaid it is preparing a written response to the report, which the Education Department will consider before issuing a final document.
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Michigan State put students at risk -- and broke federal law -- by hiding Larry Nassar's crimes, investigators say"
Post a Comment