What Is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by Rachael Denhollander

Author:Rachael Denhollander [Denhollander, Rachael]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: SPORTS & RECREATION / Gymnastics, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2019-09-09T16:00:00+00:00

[10] Here and following, quotes are from videotaped interview with Mark Alesia of the IndyStar; see Tim Evans, Mark Alesia, and Marisa Kwiatkowski, “Former USA Gymnastics Doctor Accused of Abuse,” IndyStar, September 12, 2016, https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2016/09/12/former-usa-gymnastics-doctor-accused-abuse/89995734/.

16

THE DAY FOLLOWING THE INTERVIEW was exhausting, and it became more so when I picked up a phone call from a Lansing, Michigan, area code. It was the Ingham County Police Department.

“Hi . . . Yes, I left a message about a delayed disclosure of sexual assault.” I steeled myself for answering even the most basic questions as we prepared to set up an interview. What I heard in response was not what I expected.

“Can you read me the address again of the medical building you were in?” the male officer asked. I scrambled to pull out the evidence file, flipped to the first page of my medical records, and gave him the address.

“Yeah, that’s in Ingham County,” he confirmed. I know; that’s why I called. I checked already. “But was that an MSU building?” he asked.

I glanced down at the sheet again. “Mmmm . . . I think it was.” I paused and glanced through the sheets. “Yeah, it definitely was.” I read him the name of the complex where I’d been treated.

“Okay, that makes a difference,” he said. I froze at his next words. “Because the incident technically happened on campus, the Michigan State University Police Department has jurisdiction over this. The school will have to handle the investigation.”

“What?” I asked blankly. How does a school investigate itself?

“Universities typically have their own police departments,” he repeated. “They have jurisdiction over anything that happens on campus. Your report will need to go to them. We take calls for them, so I’ve forwarded everything on to MSU PD, and they’ll call you back.”

I felt as if the room were spinning. How had I missed this? Why hadn’t that occurred to me? I knew universities had their own police departments, but I’d never even considered that MSU might have jurisdiction over itself. I swallowed the anger rising up inside at this unexpected and very unwelcome development.

“Okay, thank you. I will wait to hear from them,” I replied, trying to keep my voice calm. As soon as I hung up, I called Jacob.

“It’s MSU PD,” I said, trying to control the shaking in my voice.

“What do you mean?” His response was tinged with a combination of confusion and concern.

“I got a call back from the police department in Ingham County. Larry abused me on MSU property, and that means I have to report it to the university’s own police department. He’s going to be investigated by one of his own.” I pushed down the feeling of panic and hopelessness that was threatening to settle in. I’d been concerned enough about a local PD simply because of Larry’s reputation and community pull, not to mention his association with the university as a whole. But I’d never considered that the university itself might be tasked with the investigation.

“We don’t know that they won’t do a good job,” Jacob said soothingly, trying to help calm my fear.

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