Key Takeaways

• Larry Nassar was removed from Michigan’s sex offender registry because the ruling applies to offenses committed before July 1, 2011, rather than the date of conviction.
• The registry removal does not change Nassar’s federal or state prison sentences, which run consecutively.
• Simone Biles’ 2021 Senate testimony addressed the FBI and institutions that failed athletes, not the later registry ruling.

Simone Biles publicly demanded accountability over Larry Nassar’s abuse. Now, the former gymnastics doctor’s name has been removed from Michigan’s sex offender registry — a change prosecutors say stems from when his crimes occurred.

According to CBS Detroit, Nassar is among more than 20,000 people removed following a Sept. 9 Michigan Supreme Court ruling. The court ruled that amendments to the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) in 2021 could not retroactively impose registration requirements for offenses committed before July 1, 2011.

That distinction explains why someone convicted years later could still qualify for removal. As FOX 2 Detroit reported, the Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office confirmed that Nassar’s charging documents referenced offenses preceding that cutoff. “His conduct occurred before 2011 despite his convictions coming after,” the office explained, per CBS Detroit.

The disgraced doctor’s removal does not mean he is leaving prison. He reportedly received a 60-year federal sentence for child pornography in 2017, followed by state sentences of 40 to 175 years in Ingham County and 40 to 125 years in Eaton County in 2018. His federal and state sentences run consecutively.

The Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office criticized the decision in a Facebook post, writing, “The Michigan Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate SORA requirements for these offenders is deeply concerning.” The statement continued, “Our community, along with the victims of these crimes, expected the registry to provide a measure of protection and awareness — assurances that have now been removed by the Court’s ruling.”

What Simone Biles told the Senate about the Larry Nassar investigation

As REVOLT previously reported, Biles testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 15, 2021, during a hearing examining the FBI’s handling of the Nassar investigation. Her testimony came after his convictions and addressed the institutions responsible for protecting athletes.

“I am also a survivor of sexual abuse and I believe without a doubt that the circumstances that led to my abuse and allowed it to continue are directly the result of the fact that the organizations created by Congress to oversee and protect me as an athlete – USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee – failed to do their jobs,” the Olympic champion said in her opening statement.

She continued, “I don’t want another young gymnast, Olympic athlete or any individual to experience the horror that I and hundreds of others have endured before, during and continuing to this day in the wake of the Larry Nassar abuse.”

Biles also blamed Nassar and the “entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse.” She added that Rhonda Faehn, former head of the USA Gymnastics Women’s program, was told about the abuse in May 2015. “USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge,” Biles added.