Feb. 1 (UPI) — A Michigan police department that closed a case filed in 2004 against Larry Nassar said it will publicly apologize to a woman who said the ex-Michigan State and Team USA gymnastics doctor sexually assaulted her.
Meridian Township released the case’s redacted police report and will hold a news conference Thursday to answer questions and announce new initiatives on how it will handle criminal sexual conduct investigations in the future.
“We want to be transparent,” the township wrote in a news release.
In September 2016, Michigan State University contacted the township about the 2004 report, which detailed a Nassar patient accusing the doctor of sexual assault while she sought treatment for scoliosis.
Then a 17-year-old girl, she said she felt “scared” and “uncomfortable” during the assault, which happened during a check-up examination, according to the report.
“We missed it,” township manager Frank Walsh said. “We’re not going to hide it. We were deceived.”
During the news conference, Walsh and Police Chief David Hall will issue a public statement and apology on the township’s handling of the 2004 case. The woman who accused Nassar of sexual assault will also speak.
Nassar, a former Team USA gymnastics doctor, has been accused of sexual abuse by more than 150 young women and girls. He was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after he was convicted on seven counts of criminal sexual conduct, a first-degree felony.
