Michigan prosecutor objects after Larry Nassar removed from state sex offender registry
Disgraced former physician and convicted sex offender Larry Nassar is among the more than 20,000 people whose names have been removed from the Michigan Sex Offender Registry list, the Eaton County (Michigan) Prosecutor's Office said.
The registry is meant to "assist the public" with preventing future criminal sexual acts by convicted sex offenders, the Michigan State Police say. A typical entry includes their legal name, a photo of the person, their primary address, their work address, age, physical description, and the court that has the records of the relevant criminal conviction.
Nassar is serving multiple prison sentences that will last decades for crimes of sexual abuse and child pornography, making it unlikely he will be released before he dies.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 9 that amendments issued in 2021 to the Sex Offender Registration Act cannot be used to retroactively require registration due to older incidents. As a result, the Michigan State Police recently purged thousands of individuals whose crimes happened before July 1, 2011, from the database.
The Eaton County Prosecutor's Office said one of those removed was Nassar, providing a screen image of the name search in its social media conversation on the topic.
"His conduct occurred before 2011 despite his convictions coming after," the prosecutor's office said.
The Eaton County Prosecutor's Office also listed other offenders its office had prosecuted over sexual assault of minors, where the registration requirement was lifted. The Supreme Court could have applied a different interpretation upon hearing the case, the prosecutor's office claimed, and allowed for certain sex offenders to remain on the list.
While the effectiveness of such lists "can be debated," the prosecutor's office said, "that should occur in the legislature, not by decision of the court."
The Eaton County prosecutor is Doug Lloyd, who is the Republican nominee for Michigan attorney general in the Nov. 3 election.
The Larry Nassar investigation
The Larry Nassar investigation gained national attention, given the dozens of women who spoke up at court hearings or other events regarding his conduct, his connection to the national gymnastics team, and the civil lawsuits that resulted.
Nassar was a team doctor for the USA Gymnastics Team, which trains the country's Olympic participants, until 2014, and team physician at Michigan State University until 2016.
A former gymnast made the initial report that led to a months-long investigation and, eventually, multiple state and federal charges, including cases stemming from Ingham County and Eaton County. The accusations involved sexual assault of women and girls who were in his care.
During one of the court hearings that resulted, Nassar said the actions he took against the gymnasts were against medical protocols and done for his personal satisfaction alone.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina called him "possibly the most prolific serial child sex abuser in history" during sentencing for one of the cases that resulted.
The above video originally aired on Sept. 11, 2024.
