Lansing, MI - Former Michigan State University women’s gymnastics coach Kathie Klages was found guilty today of lying to investigators following a four-day trial in Ingham County Circuit Court, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
A jury decision in Judge Joyce Draganchuk’s courtroom determined Klages was guilty of the state’s accusations: two counts of lying to a peace officer – a felony and a high court misdemeanor. The felony charge is punishable by up to four years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. The misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. Klages is scheduled to be sentenced at 8:30 a.m. April 15.
During the investigation into sexual assaults committed by former physician Larry Nassar on MSU’s campus, Klages denied to law enforcement that she had been told prior to 2016 of Nassar’s sexual misconduct. However, witnesses said they reported Nassar’s sexual abuse to Klages more than 20 years ago.
“Ms. Klages knew of Larry Nassar’s sexual misconduct but neglected to tell investigators,” Nessel said. “She could and should have acted on complaints about Larry Nassar decades ago. That is a failure on multiple levels, but none is more important than her failure to protect the young women who had the courage to speak up decades ago and the hundreds who became Nassar’s victims after that.”
Since the investigation began in 2016, hundreds of young women have come forward to report they were victims of Nassar, who was previously an osteopathic sports physician at MSU, Twistar and USA Gymnastics.
Nassar pleaded guilty to seven felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Ingham County on Nov. 22, 2017, and to three felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Eaton County on Nov. 29, 2017.
He was sentenced in Ingham County to 40-175 years in prison on Jan. 24, 2018, and in Eaton County on Feb. 5, 2018 to 40-125 years in prison.