Allegations of Abuse and Calls for the Initiation of a State Investigation in Michigan

YPSILANTI, Mich. –
More men showed up on Thursday with allegations of sexual abuse by a late doctor at the University of Michigan, as state attorney general insisted that the The school had to commit to cooperating with its office before it moved to open an independent investigation.

New allegations include four men who sued the school saying that Dr. Robert Anderson sexually assaulted them while they were members of football, hockey and wrestling teams in the 1980s At a press conference, two other people said that Anderson assaulted them during medical exams.

The university, located in Ann Arbor, revealed last month that it is investigating multiple allegations of abuse against Anderson, who died in 2008. Last week, she reported receiving more than 100 complaints.

The lawsuits accuse the university of not having fired Anderson despite multiple complaints about him. All identify the accusers only as John Doe.

In addition, two men spoke at a press conference in Ypsilanti to detail their own allegations.

JP DesCamp stated that he saw Anderson for a physical examination required by his pilot work in 1973 and that the doctor had made him lie down on an examination table without underwear while he touched his genitals and rectum.

DesCamp said he left the office feeling very vulnerable and took advantage of it "but never discussed it with anyone. DesCamp said he learned more his colleagues later refused to see Anderson because word about Dr. Drop-your-drawers Anderson had come out.

Michael Connelley, a former student, said Anderson had mistreated him for years during medical exams at the university's health service. Connelley said that the first time he saw Anderson for a sore throat.

The president of the university has apologized to those injured by Anderson, and officials have acknowledged that some campus employees were aware of the charges against the doctor before a 2018 complaint that leads to a police investigation.

Anderson worked at the university from 1966 until his retirement. During his decades-long career, he was director of university health services and a doctor for several sports teams, including football. Campus police found that the complaints spanned a large part of Anderson's time at school, until 2002.

One of the men who sued Thursday said he was a member of the football team from 1980 to 1985. Another lawsuit by a man identified him as an All State football player at high school that was a member of the Michigan team from 1981 to 1985. The third trial was filed on behalf of a man who was on the hockey team from 1983 to 1984.

Their allegations mirror those of another lawsuit filed Wednesday.

In an illustrative example, the plaintiff remembers being told to see Anderson when he had strep throat, and during this appointment, Anderson raped the plaintiff with digital anal penetration and genital caress, said the petitioner. one of the lawsuits launched on Thursday.

A fourth lawsuit on behalf of a man who was a college wrestler from 1988 to 1991 said that Anderson has stroked his genitals at least 16 times during medical exams.

Several male lawyers accusing Anderson of sexual abuse have called Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to open his own investigation into the doctor and the university's actions.

Nessel said Thursday that she would welcome a request for an investigation from the university, but first called for a commitment to full cooperation, including the lifting of all privileges over the documents and other information. She also said the Legislative Assembly should commit to funding an investigation.

Regents of the University of Michigan, if you're listening to me right now, listen to what I'm telling you, said Nessel. We are happy to participate, we are happy to have a completely objective and impartial investigation.

Messages requesting comments were left to a spokesperson for the University of Michigan and the eight members of the board of directors.

Nessel said his insistence is rooted in the office experience during his investigation of Michigan State University. Under pressure from the public, the school board in 2018 asked Nessel's predecessor to investigate the treatment by the university of the allegations made against the former sports doctor Larry Nassar.

Three former school officials have been charged on the basis of the investigation. But the state of Michigan has refused to waive attorney-client privilege, said Nessel, denying investigators access to thousands of documents.

The last thing we want to do is give people a false hope that we can really explain exactly what happened, when we know there is no way we can do it this if the university does not want to cooperate, she said.

Robert Stone, the first man to speak publicly about allegations of abuse against Anderson, said he was disappointed with Nessel.

John Manly, the lawyer for more than 50 accusers, said that Nessel's approach was reasonable, but he still wanted his office to investigate. Manly, who represented many of Nassar's victims, said regents at the University of Michigan should quickly accept Nessel's request.

What happened here was a 30-year lie, said Manly. The best and the brightest in this state was wild by Dr. Anderson and we know that academics in positions of power knew nothing and did nothing.

Nessel then tweeted that the power of his office to investigate is limited because Anderson died and the criminal acts of potential aides and accomplices could not be prosecuted due to the limitation period.

Eggert reported from Lansing and Foody reported from Chicago. The Associated Press author Mike Householder contributed.