NEWS

3rd allegation emerges against ex-MSU gymnastics coach

Matt Mencarini

Lansing State Journal

In this Feb. 13, 2015, photo, Michigan State University gymnastics head coach Kathie Klages watches the team during a meet in East Lansing. Klages resigned in February, a day after Michigan State University suspended her amid its internal investigations related to former MSU doctor Larry Nassar

EAST LANSING - Former MSU women's gymnastics coach Kathie Klages told the mother of a current gymnast in December that the child pornography the FBI said it found on Larry Nassar's computers and hard drives may have been planted, an attorney confirmed Wednesday.

The allegation — the third made specifically against Klages — was first made in a court document filed Jan. 27 seeking to add the athlete to the federal lawsuit against Michigan State University, Nassar, USA Gymnastics and Twistars gymnastics club in Dimondale.

Those documents, filed by attorney Jamie White, didn't identify Klages, but said it was "a member of MSU’s coaching staff."

White, the attorney for the gymnast who says Nassar sexually assaulted her during medical appointments, confirmed on Tuesday that it was Klages who spoke to his client's mother.

He also confirmed that it was Klages who told his client's mother that "Nassar’s digital penetrations of (the athlete's) vagina was a proven medical treatment."

A message was left seeking comment from Shirlee Bobryk, Klages' attorney.

The court documents White filed also say that in September, after sexual assault allegations against Nassar first became public, an MSU official went to the women's gymnastics team and told them not to answer questions from police or media about Nassar.

On Tuesday, White said the official also told the athletes not to discuss Nassar with their own families. That MSU official is not identified in court documents and White said they don't know the official's name, but he confirmed it was not Klages.

Matt Larson, a spokesman for the athletics department, referred questions about the September team meeting to Jason Cody, a university spokesman. Cody said the university knows who attended that team meeting, but declined to answer additional questions, saying it would be inappropriate to comment on the ongoing university review related to Nassar and the athletic department.

Cody added that no one other than Klages has been suspended in connection with the Nassar investigation.

The university has previously said it will investigate all allegations. The university is currently conducting four investigations related to Nassar: the criminal investigation by the university's police department, internal Title IX investigations, an investigation of his clinical work with the athletic department and a review of policies and protocols within the MSU HeathTeam.

The university suspended Klages on Monday. She was in her 27th year as head coach of MSU's women's gymnastics team. On Tuesday, hours after new allegations related to what she knew about Nassar's alleged conduct surfaced in court documents, Klages announced her retirement.

Klages and MSU Athletic Director Mark Hollis met on Monday and discussed the team meeting in September, according to a letter from Hollis to Klages dated Feb. 14 that the university provided to the State Journal.

At the conclusion of that September team meeting, according to the letter, Klages shared a "highly emotional sense of shock" about the Nassar allegations, which confused several athletes about who they could or should speak with about the situation, Hollis wrote.

Court documents filed Tuesday morning allege that Klages in 1997 asked a teenage girl if Nassar had performed procedures that included digital vaginal and anal penetration on her. When the girl said yes, "Klages told (her) that there is no reason to bring up Nassar’s conduct," attorneys wrote in the court documents.

And court documents filed last month allege that in the late 1990s Klages cautioned a different teenage girl who came forward with concerns about Nassar's treatment of her that filing a complaint could lead to "serious consequences" not only for Nassar but for her. Klages also told the girl, according to court documents, that the girl must have been "misunderstanding" or "reading into" the treatment Nassar was providing.

In December, an FBI agent testified during a detention hearing that a search of computers and hard drives found on Nassar's property revealed at least 37,000 images and videos of child pornography. The agent also testified that there were videos that showed Nassar sexually assaulting young girls in a swimming pool.

In a statement on Tuesday announcing Klages' retirement, Bobryk said her client would have "reacted immediately to protect her gymnasts" had she ever received that information put her trust in Nassar in doubt. Bobryk added that Klages trusted Nassar to "competently and ethically" treat the gymnasts.

Nassar, 53, of Holt, worked for decades at MSU and with USA Gymnastics. Since September, more than 60 women or girls have made sexual assault allegations about Nassar to law enforcement, officials have said. Many of the allegations date back decades and involve medical appointments.

Nassar faces three first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges in Ingham County and three federal charges related to possessing, obtaining or destroying child pornography images or videos. He's being held in custody without bond.

However, he has not been charged with crimes related to his role as a doctor for the university.

To date, at least 38 women or girls are involved in two lawsuits against MSU, and Nassar has been sued by 39 women in at least six lawsuits. Several of those lawsuits also name USA Gymnastics as a co-defendant.

The largest lawsuit is in federal court in Grand Rapids. It was filed Jan. 10 with 18 plaintiffs but has since increased to 37, with two women filing motions on Wednesday to join the lawsuit.

ContactMatt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter@MattMencarini. Or add him on Signal, a messaging app with end-to-end encryption, at 517-281-1939.