Nassar Victim Says Msu Donor Criticized "These Girls," a Remark He Says Was Misheard

By Matt Mencarini
Lansing State Journal
May 11, 2018

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2018/05/11/michigan-state-peter-secchia-larry-nassar-legislation/599535002/

MSU alumnus and philanthropist Peter Secchia, the former U.S. Ambassador to Italy, speaks Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, at a dedication ceremony for the new MSU Grand Rapids Research Center.

For the second time this year, a major MSU donor is under scrutiny for comments he's made about Larry Nassar's victims.

While waiting with a crowd to enter a gubernatorial debate held in Grand Rapids earlier this week, Sterling Riethman, one of the 204 women and girls who gave statements earlier this year during Nassar's sentencing hearings on sexual assault charges, says she heard Peter Secchia say, "These girls are going to ruin the state of Michigan. We have to stop them."

Secchia, who has donated millions to Michigan State University over the years and has his name on several university buildings, denied the allegation when the Lansing State Journal contacted him. He said Riethman misheard him and that he said the package of bills would ruin the state. The bills were inspired by Nassar, the disgraced former MSU physician accused of sexually abusing hundreds of patients.

Riethman had testified at a state House committee about why she supports legislation intended to extend the statute of limitations for criminal and civil cases involving sexual assault cases, among other changes. Hours later Riethman was waiting to take her seat to watch the debate between Republican candidates.

A group of men were having a conversation within feet of her and she heard one ask Secchia if he had heard that some of Nassar's victims had been "paraded" in front of the state House Law and Justice Committee to testify in support of the Nassar-inspired bills, Riethman told the State Journal on Tuesday.

According to Reithman, Secchia said he had, then added: "These girls are going to ruin the state of Michigan. We have to stop them."

Secchia denied saying that. "She didn’t hear it correctly," he told the State Journal.

Secchia had been criticized in January for saying that previous complaints against Nassar were ignored because he was "a rock star," but also questioning why some parents remained quiet. "Were they driven to have a gold medal or driven to have a child who is a star?" he told a Grand Rapids TV station. "Were they holding back on the information they had because they didn't want to embarrass their daughter?"

Riethman said one of the other men with Secchia implied that she, Rachael Denhollander (the first woman to publicly say Nassar abused her), and the other Nassar victims who testified before the committee only did so at the request of their attorneys.

Riethman and Denhollander are among the nearly 300 Nassar victims who are suing MSU, USA Gymnastics and others related to Nassar's abuse. The package of bills in the Legislature, if passed, could impact those lawsuits.

"All we're trying to do is protect children," Riethman told the State Journal. "I am no one’s pawn. I am a survivor. I’m not doing this on behalf of a trial lawyer."

Secchia told the State Journal that the bills would drive businesses from the state and deter business from moving here.

Secchia said someone he didn't know came up to him and asked about the state House committee hearings, which Secchia told the State Journal he had only heard about.

Secchia wondered why Riethman was listening to his conversation, although he acknowledged it took place in public.

Riethman attended the debate as a guest of Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, one of the GOP candidates for governor, but said she isn't supporting a specific candidate.

Secchia attended the debate as a guest of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, also a gubernatorial hopeful. Schuette's office led the prosecution of Nassar.

In January, just days after Nassar's first of two sentencing hearings in state courts, Schuette announced that he had tapped William Forsyth, a retired Kent County prosecutor, as an independent special prosecutor to investigate sexual misconduct at MSU.

Riethman said Secchia's comments and connection to Schuette have now made her concerned about the overall investigation of MSU.

Andrea Bitely, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office, said Schuette has not discussed the ongoing investigation or the package of bills with Secchia. Secchia said the same.

In March, the investigation secured its first criminal charges, against William Strampel, the former dean of MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine who had also served as one of Nassar's bosses.

"Bill Forsyth is a fantastic investigator and a fantastic leader and is leading an investigation that has already resulted in charges against a dean," Bitely said, adding that the AG's Office supports the package of bills as a whole.

Nassar, 54, formerly of Holt, is serving a 60-year federal prison sentence on three child pornography charges. He was also sentenced to decades in prison on 10 sexual assault charges in state courts.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com . Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.