SERVING TIME

Larry Nassar’s Former Boss Sentenced to Year in Jail

“He was supposed to protect us and he chose to betray us,” student Leah Jackson said during her testimony.

William Strampel, the former Michigan State University dean whom convicted child molester Larry Nassar worked under, has been sentenced to a year in jail after being found guilty of neglect of duty and misconduct in office. Strampel, who faced up to five years in prison, was accused of using his high-ranking position to demean and proposition students who met with him to discuss academics. The 71-year-old was also convicted for failing to monitor Nassar after school protocols were put in place that required a third person be present in an exam room during sensitive procedures. Strampel’s attorney John Dakmak defended him, saying he increased the admission of women in the medical school and rooted “for the underdog.”

Multiple students testified about sexual comments Strampel made, and investigators said his computer contained photos of nude or near-nude women wearing Michigan State-branded clothing. “Why was he so confident he could get away with it?” Leah Jackson, a student, said. “It makes me wonder how many other people he had done this to. He was supposed to protect us and he chose to betray us.”