LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A water main break forced the postponement Wednesday of sentencing for a former Michigan State University head gymnastics coach for lying to police during an investigation into ex-Olympic and MSU doctor Larry Nassar.
Kathie Klages, 65, was found guilty by a jury in February of a felony and a misdemeanor for denying she knew of Nassar’s abuse prior to 2016 when survivors started to come forward publicly.
The misdemeanor carries up to a 2-year prison sentence or a fine of up to $5,000. The felony carries up to a 4-year prison sentence or a fine of up to $5,000.
Water was cut off Wednesday to the courthouse where Klages was scheduled to be sentenced. Repairs were expected to take several hours. No new date was immediately scheduled.
Two women testified in November 2018 that in 1997 they told Klages that Nassar had sexually abused them. One of the women, Larissa Boyce, testified that Klages held up a piece of paper in front of the then-16-year-old and said if she filed a report there could be serious consequences for Boyce.
Nassar was sentenced in 2018 to 40 to 175 years in prison for decades of sexual abuse to hundreds of athletes.
Klages is the second person other than Nassar to be convicted of charges related to his serial molestation of young women and girls under the guise of medical treatment.
Nassar’s boss at Michigan State, ex-College of Osteopathic Medicine Dean William Strampel, was sentenced to jail for crimes including neglecting a duty to enforce protocols on Nassar after a patient complained about sexual contact in 2014.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the former coach’s first name to Kathie, from Kathy.
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Anna Liz Nichols is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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