Michigan's Court of Appeals has overturned the conviction of former Michigan State University gymnastics coach Kathie Klages after determining there is insufficient evidence that she lied to police about her knowledge of sexual abuse by ex-doctor Larry Nassar.
A jury convicted Klages last year of two counts of giving a false statement to a peace officer after determining she lied to investigators in 2018 when she told them she had no memory of two teenage gymnasts telling her in 1997 that Nassar's so-called treatment involved genital penetration.
A judge sentenced Klages to 90 days in jail and 18 months probation, but Klages earned early release from probation at the request of her supervisors who described her as cooperative.
In a 2-1 ruling Tuesday, an appeals panel ordered Klages' conviction to be reversed with Judge Stephen Borrello dissenting.
Klages began coaching gymnastics at MSU in 1990; Nassar worked for the university from 1996 through 2016.
Nassar is serving an effective life sentence after pleading guilty to sexual assault and child pornography charges.
