Klages to be sentenced Tuesday for lying in Nassar case

The longtime Michigan State University gymnastics coach convicted of lying to police about what she knew about serial sex abuser Larry Nassar will face sentencing on Tuesday.

Kathie Klages, thought to be the first MSU official to become aware of Nassar and his crimes, will appear before Ingham County Judge Joyce Draganchuk as a first-time offender with support letters written by 200 people, including several gymnasts. She also comes for sentencing in an era of COVID-19 — which her lawyer has noted that she is at risk of contracting due to her age, 65, and other risk factors.

Draganchuk could give Klages a sentence of between 0-17 months in prison based on an advisory sentencing guideline range calculated in court records.

A jury found Klages guilty in February of lying to a peace officer during the 2018 investigation into the sexual assaults committed by Nassar on MSU’s campus. Two witnesses testified that they told Klages about Nassar's abuse in 1997. 

But Klages says she first learned of Nassar's sexual abuse when a newspaper report was published in 2016, and maintains that she does not remember being told about Nassar's assaults more than two decades ago. 

Before the judge sentences Klages,  two former MSU gymnasts, including Larissa Boyce, will give impact statements. Both said they told Klages about Nassar in 1997 and she did nothing.

Boyce could not be reached for comment ahead of Tuesday's hearing. But she has said that had Klages acted, she could have stopped Nassar from sexually abusing scores of other young girls and women before he was stopped in 2016. 

One of Boyce's lawyers at Okemos-based Grewal Law agreed. He said Boyce was 16 at the time she reported Nassar, but Klages was an adult and had a duty and moral obligation to report the complaints from her and the other gymnast, who was 14.

"If she did what she was suppose to do in 1997, over 500 young girls and women that we know of and likely thousands could have been protected from being molested," said David Mittleman, who represented 111 of the 332 women who sued MSU and were part of a $500 million settlement.

 "As a coach, she had the 'duty' not just 'moral obligation' as you would have and other non-mandatory reporters to report out to an entity like Child Protective Services and to her supervisor the suspected sexual assault of a minor, and not conduct her own investigation as she did. And not alert the perpetrator ... What she did, and didn't do, is appalling."

But Mary Chartier, Klages' Lansing-based lawyer, said in her sentencing memorandum that Klages passed two polygraph tests, showing "she truly does not remember the conversation that she supposedly lied about." 

Chartier also wrote that Klages could not have stopped Nassar because he fooled many people about the sexual abuse that he portrayed as a medical procedure. 

"Numerous people were told about the procedure — nurses, athletic trainers at other schools, psychologists, doctors, and a high school counselor—and they did nothing," Chartier's memo says. "Most notably, police and prosecutors were aware of the procedures, and they did nothing. To ignore this and claim that Mrs. Klages could have stopped the devastation wrought by Mr. Nassar is just plain false."

Chartier's memo also says Klages' age, weight and health put her at risk of infection and death from COVID-19 if incarcerated.

"Punishment comes in many forms," Chartier wrote. "This court can sentence Mrs. Klages in accord with the factors required without jeopardizing her life and health."

State prosecutors argued in their sentencing memo that Klages is not reformed, is deserving of punishment and should be incarcerated, according to the sentencing memorandum signed by First Assistant Attorney General William Rollstin.

"Based upon the defendant's untruthfulness during an internationally

watched investigation into Michigan State University and one of the most prolific

sexual predators of the modern era, Larry Nassar, her testimony at trial, which was

roundly rejected by 12 jurors, her continued disregard for the importance of telling

the truth during a criminal investigation and the law of this State, to deter others

from committing the same offense, and for the factors discussed below that are not

taken into account by the advisory sentencing guidelines, the People respectfully

request that the Court sentence the defendant to a term of confinement to be

determined by this Court," said the memorandum.

It also said that the sentencing Klages to prison would deter others from lying.

"There exists a unique opportunity in sentencing the defendant to instruct not only the community of Ingham County, but also the larger community of Michigan, the United States and university officials across the nation."

Ryan Jarvis, a spokesman for the Michigan Attorney General, said letters were also submitted with the state's sentencing memo of Klages but he declined to provide them.

Chartier provided the 200 letters submitted on behalf of Klages. Many attested to Klages' character as a woman who was kind, cared about others and did compassionate things such as attending weddings and flying out of state to attend a funeral of a gymnast's father.

"I always prided myself that Kathie was more than just a coach to us," wrote Ilene (Cohen) Lennon, a former MSU gymnast. "She truly cared about allof us as individuals. She was concerned about our well-being. She didn’t just care aboutmaking great gymnasts or winning meets. She cared about the type of people we were turninginto. She believed in us and wanted the absolute best for us. She wanted to support us in all oflife’s ups and downs. I know to this day that if I needed her, she would show up for me, and forevery gymnast on my team, again and again. I believe in my heart of hearts that Kathie Klagesis a good person who cares deeply."

Klages is the third former MSU employee to be face criminal charges stemming from the Nassar scandal. A Detroit News investigation found Klages was one of at least 14 MSU representatives who received reports of Nassar's conduct over two decades.

Nassar's onetime boss, former osteopathic medical school dean William Strampel, was sentenced to a one-year jail sentence for willful neglect of duty linked to his supervision of Nassar and misconduct in office related to inappropriate comments he made to female students. But he was released four months early.  

Former MSU President Lou Anna Simon was charged last October with lying to police but a judge dismissed the case in May, saying prosecutors didn't present enough evidence. Attorney General Dana Nessel appealed the dismissal last month.

Klages was originally scheduled to be sentenced in April but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed her sentencing. It was rescheduled for July 15 but delayed again due to a water main break outside of Ingham County Circuit Court. 

Her sentencing will end criminal proceedings locally for those tied to the sex abuse scandal involving Nassar, who is serving a de facto life prison term after pleading guilty to child pornography and sexual assault charges. His sentences came in 2018 after more than 200 women delivered victim impact statements over nine days in two courtrooms in Ingham and Eaton counties.

kkozlowski@detroitnews.com