Ex-MSU and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar is expected to plead guilty to 22 counts of criminal sexual conduct of the first degree in Ingham and Eaton counties.
In Ingham County, a plea hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 22, according to court documents. The hearing will take place in Judge Rosemarie Aquilina's courtroom.
In Eaton County, a plea hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 29, according to court documents.
Multiple criminal sexual conduct charges against Nassar in Ingham County court allegedly took place at MSU.
"While it is not appropriate for the university to comment on reports of a plea deal, MSU from the beginning has sought justice in the Larry Nassar case," MSU spokesperson Jason Cody said in a statement via email. "As the state and federal criminal charges facing Nassar show, his behavior was deeply disturbing and repugnant, and the responsibility for his actions is his alone. It was through the hard and diligent work of the MSU Police Department that Nassar is being brought to justice."
Due to the court's gag order, attorneys involved in the case cannot comment on the plea hearings.
Jury selection for Nassar's Ingham County case is set to start Dec. 4. In addition to Nassar's Ingham County charges, he also faces seven charges of criminal sexual conduct in Eaton County Circuit Court. His Eaton County trial isn't expected to begin until his Ingham trial is completed.
The sexual assault charges Nassar faces in Michigan have a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Nassar is accused of sexually abusing over 140 women and girls under the guise of medical treatment. He was arrested in December 2016 on charges of possessing “at least 37,000” images of child pornography to which he has pleaded guilty. His sentencing for these charges is set for Dec. 7.
Nassar is also a defendant in a number of lawsuits, many alongside MSU.
Recently in Aquilina's court, it was determined that Nassar's federal child pornography charges — to which he pleaded guilty in federal court — won't be included as forms of evidence in the Ingham County trial.
Nassar's Ingham trial will now include additional testimonies from six women, who all allege they were also abused by Nassar under the guise of medical treatment. His trial will exclude findings from an investigation from MSU's Title IX Office on the basis that the standard of proof for those findings can't be sustained in court.
This story was updated at 12:45 p.m. to reflect the added plea hearing in Eaton County and to include university comment.
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