Erika Davis is a former MSU athlete who has alleged in a recent lawsuit that convicted child molester Larry Nassar raped and impregnated her when she was 17 years old. Davis’s suit was filed on Monday, the last day before the deadline for Nassar accusers to file claims with MSU as a part of the university’s $500 million settlement. Here’s what you need to know 1. Davis Was on a Scholarship at MSU for Field Hockey When Nassar Allegedly Raped Her Former Michigan State University athlete Erika Davis says in a new lawsuit that Larry Nassar drugged and raped her in 1992 during an appointment, had a cameraman film it, and got her pregnant. STORY: https://t.co/u7VPNq3wMz pic.twitter.com/vcotPOEW0h — Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) September 11, 2018 Davis was an athlete on the field hockey team for MSU, and was on scholarship when she went to Nassar for an injury. She claims that she was then sexually abused and raped by Nassar, an act which Nassar claimed was a part of a “flexibility” study he was conducting. Davis has claimed that a cameraman was there for the sexual abuse, too. The court documents say, “Nassar further inquired whether Plaintiff Erika had ever had a breast examination, and she had not. Nassar asked her to remove her shirt and bra, which she did. … During this time, the cameraman was filming Defendant Nassar’s sexual abuse of (Davis).” Davis also claims that Nassar gave her a pill that made her “woozy,” and that she woke up to Nassar raping her. 2. Davis Told Her Coach About the Incident, Who Told George Perles, Athletic Director of MSU 1992. NINETEEN NINETY TWO. MSU catastrophically failed Erika Davis and the hundreds who followed. We stand with you Erika. https://t.co/iQbfQRLAL3 — Lela Moore (@RunLelaRun) September 11, 2018 Davis said that she told her coach of the incident, who then demanded that Nassar give her the tape. But when the coach told Perles, he made the coach give the tape back. She apparently made a copy of it, though it’s unclear from the court documents if that tape still exists. The court document alleges that Perles made an intentional and concentrated effort to cover up the details of Davis’s assault. The document reads, “This proves that not only did Defendant Michigan State University have knowledge that Defendant Nassar sexually abused and sexually assaulted minors, but that it would also go to great lengths to conceal this conduct. Defendant Michigan State University could have stopped Defendant Nassar’s conduct back in 1992, but did not.” 3. Davis Found Out She Was Pregnant Shortly After, & “The Only Person” Who Could Have Impregnated Her Was Nassar How Larry Nassar Got Away With Decades of Sexual Abuse | NYTLawrence G. Nassar, the sports doctor accused of sexually abusing more than 160 young women, committed his crimes with impunity for decades. Here’s how. Read the story here: nytimes.com/2018/01/24/sports/larry-nassar-sentencing.html More from The New York Times Video: Subscribe: bit.ly/U8Ys7n Watch all of our videos here: nytimes.com/video Facebook: facebook.com/nytvideo Twitter: twitter.com/nytvideo ———- Whether it's reporting on conflicts… 2018-01-26T17:30:00.000Z A few months after the incident, Davis reportedly told a dorm mom that she hadn’t gotten her period, and she was advised to take a pregnancy test. The test came back positively, and the dorm mother advised her to tell the police that she had been raped. But when Davis told the police about her story, she claims they said that they informed her that she had to work with the athletic department at MSU, since she was an athlete. The court document read, “(Davis) explained that the athletic department already dismissed it and the sergeant responded that George Perles is a ‘powerful man,’ and she should just drop it.” 4. Davis Miscarried Shortly After, & She Eventually Lost Her Scholarship VIDEO: In police interviews, Nassar blames victims for misunderstanding treatmentLarry Nassar said he was the victim, not his patients. In more than three hours of interviews with police, obtained by 7 Action News through the Freedom of Information Act, Nassar appears befuddled and defiant when faced with allegations that he abused patients. 2018-05-16T03:27:30.000Z Though nothing was done legally about her claims of rape at the time, Davis soon miscarried, and lost her scholarship soon after, though it’s unclear what the official reason was for her losing her scholarship. Davis claimed in the documents that she stopped seeing Nassar and tried to move on with her life- but that when she saw the hundreds of girls speaking out, she decided to file a suit alongside them. 5. Davis Claims That if Her Suit Had Been Taken Seriously, Hundreds of Instances of Sexual Assault Could Have Been Prevented Larry Nassar sentenced: I signed your death warrant, judge saysCircuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced ex-Team USA doctor Larry Nassar up to 175 years in prison for sexual assault. "Because the crime, all of the crimes, the depth of them have cut into the core of this community and many communities in all of the families and people we don’t even know," Judge Aquilina… 2018-01-24T18:57:04.000Z In the documents, Davis claims that “could have prevented hundreds of young girls and women from being sexually assaulted by Defendant Nassar” if the school had taken her seriously at the time. An investigation by Detroit News has since confirmed that at least 14 MSU school officials were notified of Nassar’s abuse, and did nothing about it at the time. READ NEXT: Larry Nassar Attacked in Prison<doc-sep>Disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar drugged, raped and impregnated a Michigan State University field hockey player in 1992 — and the university’s then-athletic director took steps to cover it up, according to an explosive new lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed by Erika Davis in federal court in Grand Rapids, alleges that Davis told her coach, Martha Ludwig, that the sexual assault had been videotaped, prompting Ludwig to confront Nassar about the allegations and to demand a copy of the footage, according to the lawsuit, which was obtained by the Lansing State Journal. George Perles — a current trustee at the university who resigned as Michigan State’s athletic director in 1992 — then intervened, and Davis’ complaint was dropped. Perles then forced Ludwig to hand over the video before resigning and signing a non-disclosure agreement, the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit, which names Nassar, Michigan State, its board of trustees and USA Gymnastics as defendants, also claims that Davis was impregnated during the sexual assault and that Nassar, 55, is the only person who could have been the father. Davis later had a miscarriage, according to the lawsuit, which claims MSU’s Police Department pointed Davis in another direction when she reported the incident with two friends in October 1992. “The police told them that since she was an athlete, she had to report it to the athletic department,” the lawsuit claims. “The detective explicitly told them that he was powerless to investigate anything that takes place [in] the athletic department and to go to the athletic department. Plaintiff Erika explained that the athletic department already dismissed it and the sergeant responded that George Perles is a ‘powerful man,’ and she should just drop it.” Davis later lost her field hockey scholarship, according to the lawsuit, which accused Michigan State officials of going to “great lengths” to conceal Nassar’s conduct. “Defendant Michigan State University could have stopped Defendant Nassar’s conduct back in 1992, but did not,” the lawsuit claims. Attorneys for Perles and Davis did not immediately return messages seeking comment, the Lansing State Journal reports. A spokeswoman for the university said Michigan State officials are “deeply sorry” for the abuses committed by Nassar, as well as the trauma experienced by all sexual assault survivors. “While the protocols and procedures mentioned in this lawsuit do not reflect how sexual assault claims are handled at MSU, we are taking the allegations very seriously and [are] looking into the situation,” Michigan State spokeswoman Emily Guerrant said. The university’s current police chief, Jim Dunlap, told the paper that the notion the department would have declined to look into the allegations because Perles or any other athletic department official got involved was “nonsense.” “It just doesn’t happen,” said Dunlap, who was not the university’s chief of police in 1992 and added that he didn’t know whether the department ever received a report. “We just don’t do things that way.” In 1992, Nassar was a student at Michigan State’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, but six years earlier he was working as an athletic trainer for USA Gymnastics. He was ultimately hired by Michigan State in 1997 after working with the US women’s gymnastics team at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The Department of Justice announced in September that its inspectors were looking into what actions FBI officials took after they received sexual abuse complaints against Nassar in July 2015. Nassar pleaded guilty last year to federal child pornography charges and state sexual abuse charges in Michigan and was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison in January. A month later, he was sentenced to 40 to 125 years for the sex abuse charges.<doc-sep>RENA LAVERTY/Getty Images Erika Davis, a former Michigan State field hockey player, filed a lawsuit on Monday accusing Larry Nassar of raping her. Per ESPN.com's Dan Murphy, Davis said in her lawsuit the alleged rape occurred in 1992 after her coach recommended she visit Nassar for help with a knee injury she had suffered. Davis' lawsuit alleges Nassar gave her a breast exam during one visit and, during a second visit, drugged and raped her in an exam room. "Eventually, she could not keep her eyelids open and got very woozy," the lawsuit reads. "When she was less woozy a short time later, Plaintiff Erika witnessed Defendant Nassar raping her." Davis also said another man filmed Nassar giving her the breast exam, during which she said Nassar put "his hands and mouth on her nipples." She first informed former Michigan State field hockey coach Martha Ludwig about the rape in May 1992. The lawsuit also notes "several" Michigan State employees knew about Davis' allegations against Nassar, including current school trustee and former athletic director George Perles. "According to the lawsuit, Ludwig confronted Nassar and took from him the video of the 'breast exam' where he assaulted Davis," Murphy wrote. "The lawsuit says Ludwig spoke to Perles shortly thereafter. The suit alleges that Perles forced Ludwig to turn over the video and 'the charges were dropped against the coach.' It's not clear what charges the suit is referencing or if 'coach' refers to Ludwig or Nassar." Michigan State released a statement regarding Davis' lawsuit, via Matt Mencarini of the Lansing State Journal: "We are deeply sorry for the abuses Larry Nassar has committed, and for the trauma experienced by all sexual assault survivors. Sexual abuse, assault and relationship violence are not tolerated in our campus community. While the protocols and procedures mentioned in this lawsuit do not reflect how sexual assault claims are handled at MSU, we are taking the allegations very seriously and looking into the situation." Nassar is currently serving at least 100 years in prison after pleading guilty in three separate cases to charges of child pornography, sexual assault of minors and sexual assault.<doc-sep>That summer, Davis, who was a virgin at the time of the alleged rape, stopped menstruating. She took a pregnancy test, which came back positive, though she later suffered a miscarriage. The incident prompted her to report the alleged rape to the Michigan State University police, who then told her to report it to the athletic department.<doc-sep>
A former Michigan State field hockey player alleges in a recent lawsuit that Larry Nassar drugged and raped her during a 1992 medical appointment, according to the Lansing State Journal. Erika Davis filed a lawsuit in federal court in Grand Rapids recently. The lawsuit lists Michigan State, the Board of Trustees, Nassar, USA Gymnastics and others as defendents, per the Journal. Davis claimed that she told her coach what happened and that the assault was videotaped. Davis's coach, Martha Ludwig, approached Nassar about the incident. She demanded and received a copy of the recording, reports the Journal. Then-Michigan State athletic director George Perles resigned in 1992 and is a current trustee. The complaint against Nassar was dropped after Perles intervened. He forced Ludwig to return the recording, resign and sign a non-disclosure agreement, according to the Journal. Davis said she became pregnant and later had a miscarriage. She claimed that Nassar was the only man who could have been the father. Michigan State spokesperson Emily Guerrant released a statement to the Journal on the lawsuit. "We are deeply sorry for the abuses Larry Nassar has committed and for the trauma experienced by all sexual assault survivors," Guerrant said. "Sexual abuse, assault and relationship violence are not tolerated in our campus community. "While the protocols and procedures mentioned in this lawsuit do not reflect how sexual assault claims are handled at MSU, we are taking the allegations very seriously and looking into the situation." The Journal reports that Davis and two friends went to the Michigan State Police Department in Oct. 1992 to file a report. The police told Davis to file a complaint with the athletic department. A detective told Davis that he was "powerless" to investigate it. When Davis told police that the athletic department had already dismissed her complaint, the Sergeant said that Perles is a "powerful man" and she should drop it. Davis also claimed that her field hockey scholarship was taken away from her, per the Journal. "This proves that not only did Defendant Michigan State University have knowledge that Defendant Nassar sexually abused and sexually assaulted minors, but that it would also go to great lengths to conceal this conduct," Davis's attorneys wrote in the lawsuit, via the Journal. "Defendant Michigan State University could have stopped Defendant Nassar’s conduct back in 1992, but did not." Current Michigan State Police Chief Jim Dunlap, who was not chief in 1992, told the Journal that he was unaware of the lawsuit or whether or not the department ever received a report. The Michigan State Police Department led the criminal investigations into Nassar in 2014 and 2016. The 2014 investigation ended when Ingham County prosecutors did not issue charges. The 2016 investigation ended with state and federal convictions of Nassar, as well as hundreds of women and girls reporting that he abused them. Nassar was a student in Michigan State's College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1992, but he had started working as a USA Gymnastics athletic trainer in 1986. Michigan State hired Nassar in 1997 and later fired him in 2016 as the number of sexual assault reports against him increased. He is currently serving a 60-year sentence on federal child pornography charges. Nassar also received a sentence of 40 to 125 years in Michigan state prison on seven first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges. Nassar has appealed his sentences, all of which have been denied so far.