A former dean at Michigan State University who oversaw disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar is facing criminal charges for allegedly grabbing a medical student’s backside and storing photos showing “bare vaginas” and nude women on his work computer — many of which appear to be “selfies” of female MSU students, authorities said.
William Strampel, who served as dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine from 2002 until December, also solicited nude photos from at least one student, according to an affidavit posted Tuesday by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. Strampel is expected to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon on four charges, including a felony count of misconduct in office, fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of willful neglect of duty.
Strampel, 70, who was arrested Monday, failed to protect students and athletes after a Title IX case placed restrictions on Nassar, according to the affidavit.
“Despite his representation of his (and the College) intended response to the allegations against Nassar, Strampel did not actually enforce or monitor the protocols, nor did he alert other employees in the sports medicine clinic about the existence of the protocols, let alone order that they be followed with respect to Nassar,” the affidavit said.
The felony criminal sexual conduct charge relates to an incident in 2010 during the college’s annual ball, when Strampel allegedly approached a woman from behind and grabbed her right buttock. The woman later told police she didn’t report the incident at the time because she “did not want to be thrown out of medical school,” according to the affidavit.
An examination of Strampel’s work computer also revealed roughly 50 photos of “bare vaginas, nude and semi-nude women, sex toys, and pornography,” the document states.
“Many of these photos are of what appear to be ‘selfies’ of female MSU students, as evidenced by the MSU clothing and piercings featured in multiple photos,” according to the affidavit. “Forensic examination shows that someone attempted to delete some of the photos contained in a file folder on the computer’s hard drive.”
Investigators also found pornographic videos and footage of Nassar performing “treatment” on a young female patient. One of the videos, apparently taken in October 2013, depicted a female masturbating at a “very close perspective,” according to the affidavit.
In all, investigators identified four victims connected with the allegations, including one student at the college who said she was summoned by Strampel to meet him in his office after falling asleep in class in 2011. Strampel directed her toward a chair but told her not to sit before instructing her to turn around in a circle twice so he could check out her figure, according to the affidavit.
Another medical student said she met Strampel in 2014 to discuss an exam and claimed he scanned her body aggressively, making her feel uncomfortable. She retook the exam and came one point short of a passing grade, requiring her to meet with Strampel again. He suggested during that meeting that she consider a “Plan B,” perhaps as a centerfold model, and reminding her that another female medical student at the school became a stripper to finance her education.
Strampel then agreed to let the student take the exam a third time, but said she would need to do whatever he wanted as a result.
“If he called on the weekend and told her to come to his house, she would have to do it,” the affidavit reads. “If he asked her to come ‘weed the garden,’ she would have to do it. Given the context, V-3 understood that she was being asked to do anything he wanted sexually in exchange for the favor.”
A fourth victim, meanwhile, told authorities of similar experiences and said she was “not surprised Nassar had been able to victimize so many women” under Strampel’s supervision.
Strampel is the first person charged in a probe into the handling of complaints against Nassar, who was sentenced in December to decades in prison on child porn charges. He remains in custody at a high-security federal prison in Arizona, the Detroit Free Press reports. He also faces decades behind bars in Ingham and Eaton counties, where he was charged with 10 sexual assaults.
In February, Michigan State’s interim president began the process of firing Strampel and removing his tenure for his failure to enforce protocols placed on Nassar after a sexual assault investigation in 2014. Strampel said he stepped down for medical reasons in December.
Strampel admitted to police last year that he failed to follow up after demanding that Nassar have a third party present when providing treatment “anything close to a sensitive area,” the Associated Press reports. Nassar was later fired in 2016 for violating that rule. Less than a month earlier, gymnast Rachael Denhollander accused Nassar of sexually assaulting her while treating her for back pain.
Attorney John Manly, who represents more than 150 of Nasser’s victims, said Tuesday’s developments show “clear and convincing evidence of gross sexual misconduct” at the highest levels of Michigan State.
“Our clients are encouraged by the Attorney General Schuette’s action today,” Manly said in a statement obtained by The Post. “It demonstrates that he is serious about investigating the systemic misconduct at MSU that led to the largest child sex abuse scandal in history and holding the responsible parties accountable.”