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MSU Sports Doctor Ordered To Stand Trial For Child Sex Assault

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - A judge has ordered a former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics sports doctor to stand trial on sexual assault charges.

Judge Donald Allen Jr. issued his ruling at the conclusion of a hearing near Lansing in which a 25-year-old woman testified that she was repeatedly molested as a child by Dr. Larry Nassar.

Nassar is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He has pleaded not guilty.

The woman says her parents were friends with Nassar and the abuse happened from age 6 until age 12 during family visits to his home. She says he rubbed his genitals on her and digitally penetrated her, among other things.

Separately, Nassar — who had a clinic at MSU — faces child porn charges and is being sued by dozens of women and girls who say he sexually assaulted them while they sought treatment over a roughly 20-year period.

They ranged in age from 9 to 29 at the time. Most were minors "cloaked with innocence and trust of their youth," attorney Stephen Drew told reporters.

Many of the women have the same allegations: During the course of Nassar's treatments, the doctor allegedly inserted "his bare, ungloved and unlubricated hand" into the victim's vagina, according to the complaint. When one woman reported Nassar's disturbing "treatments" to the MSU training staff, she was allegedly told that Nassar was a world-renowned doctor and that his "inter‐vaginal adjustments" were legitimate medical treatments.

Michigan State University fired Nassar in September 2016, and USA Gymnastics cut ties in 2015. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs also announced this week that it served an order to immediately suspend Nassar's license to practice as an osteopathic physician.

Nassar denies any wrongdoing.

TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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