Larry Nassar’s story is the classic tale of a fast and furious fall from grace. At one point in the not too distant past, he was a nationally renowned MSU sports doctor, and team physician for the U.S. gymnastics team, serving through four Olympic games. Now, less than a year later, he is imprisoned, facing charges for sexual assault and child pornography, and alleged to have molested over 100 women and girls.

In addition to the charges, both in state and federal courts, Nassar is facing one additional challenge that may prove to be the hardest blow to bear: the loss of his children. According to a petition filed in the Ingham County Court, Child Protective Services is seeking to terminate Nassar’s parental rights.

According to his attorney, this is an unnecessary move, serving only to formalize something that is essentially already a reality. After all, Nassar’s estranged wife has sole custody of their children, and Nassar has almost no contact with them. CPS, however, isn’t satisfied with this arrangement. Despite the fact that Nassar has never been accused of abusing or assaulting his own children in any way, the state is hoping to strip him of his parental rights nonetheless.

However, while the allegations of sexual abuse may not have anything to do with Nassar’s own children, it isn’t unusual for CPS to seek termination when the allegations are severe, and include other children. In this case, Nassar is accused of sexually assaulting almost 100 female patients during the course of his medical practice. The majority of them were minors at the time.

Nassar is accused of sexually abusing many minors, but not his own children.

There is currently a federal lawsuit against MSU, Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics, with more than 78 women named as claimants and five separate law firms representing clients. The women and girls involved in the lawsuit all claim to have been sexually assaulted or sexually abused by Nassar at some point in the past. Some were gymnasts who sought help from Nassar during his time as the team physician, while others sought him out as a sports doctor through MSU.

In addition, there are also criminal charges, both at a state and a federal level. The criminal investigation into the allegations against Nassar is currently being handled by the MSU Police Department. However, up until now there have been numerous departments involved, including the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, Michigan State Police, the FBI regional office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Nassar was initially arrested in late November of 2016 and then granted a $1 million bond, which he paid. However, his freedom was short lived. The very next month, in December, Nassar was arrested again, this time by federal officials on child pornography charges. According to court records, Nassar was accused of receiving, or attempting to receive sexually explicit images of children.

Because the case is still ongoing, we don’t have any idea what the outcome will be.  However, we will be watching this case closely, and will keep you posted as it develops. Until then, we want to remind our readers that sex crimes against children are considered to be incredibly serious by Michigan courts and prosecutors. So if you or a loved one have been accused of sexually assaulting a minor, contact The Kronzek Firm today at 866 766 5245. We can help you through this frightening time.