LANSING — Former Michigan State University dean William Strampel will spend a year in the Ingham County Jail.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk sentenced Strampel to one year each for two misdemeanors and 11 months for a felony on Wednesday, nearly two months after a jury found him guilty of the three charges. He'll serve the sentences concurrently and has one day credit for time served on each count.
Draganchuk expressed disappointment that Strampel declined to speak during his sentencing
"You could at least express sorrow for the impact that it’s had on these people," she said while determining Strampel's sentence. "You don’t have to admit criminal conduct to do that."
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement that Strampel's sentence sent a clear message to public officials.
"If you brandish your power to demean, insult, harass, objectify, and abuse women, you will be held accountable," Nessel said. "While Mr. Strampel’s sentence will never give back the years of pain and suffering his victims had to endure, the persistence of these courageous survivors made certain that he could no longer hide behind the title he once held to escape the reach of justice.”
Jurors found Strampel guilty in June after more than five hours of deliberation, finding he used his power as dean of MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine to proposition and control female medical students.
Strampel avoided a potential 15-year sentence when jurors found him not guilty of a second-degree criminal sexual conduct charge. That was related to him reportedly groping Dr. Jessica Neuroth during a scholarship event in 2014 when she was a medical student.
Strampel is the first MSU official to be sentenced to jail stemming from the Nassar investigation. Former Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon and former university gymnastics coach Kathy Klages both face criminal charges in connection with the Attorney General's investigation.
Klages' attorneys Wednesday were arguing she should not have been ordered to stand trial by a district court judge. Draganchuk is also hearing that motion.
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