Lou Anna Simon (File photo)
It's like an indelible stain or a prominent scar -- a visible reminder of damage that endures.
Michigan State has a fresh sign of long-term injuries to its reputation. In addition to being a past campus leader who left in disgrace last January, Lou Anna Simon now is a criminal defendant.
Lou Anna Simon (MSU photo)
Three Lansing State Journal reporters have the news:
Former MSU President Lou Anna Simon has been charged with lying to police, making her the third person charged by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office in its investigation of the university related to Larry Nassar.Simon was charged today in Eaton County District Court with two felony counts and two misdemeanor counts. She faces up to four years in prison if convicted. . . .
As the [sexual abuse] accusations against Nassar came to light and grew in number, Simon was repeatedly questioned about MSU’s response to sexual misconduct complaints. She was criticized for comments widely seen as deflecting the university’s responsibility.
A warrant filing by prosecutors on the attorney general's staff says Simon "did knowingly and willfully make a statement or statements to the officer that he or she knew was false or misleading regarding the following material fact or facts relating to the investigation."
When questioned by a Michigan State Police detective, she allegedly didn't reveal that she knew Nassar was the subject of a university investigation into a complaint by MSU graduate Amanda Thomashow. The patient said he touched her inappropriately during a 2014 appointment for treatment of hip pain at MSU's Sports Medicine Clinic.
