(WXYZ) — Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect new information revealed by Michigan State Police
Michigan State Police issued a statement Friday, saying that Larry Nassar was not removed from the state's sex offender registry because of a recent ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court.
That statement comes days after the Eaton County Prosecutor's Office stated in a social media post that Nassar was one of the people removed from the registry.
"The Michigan Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate SORA requirements for these offenders is deeply concerning," the office said in that post on September 27.
Watch below: Past coverage of Larry Nassar's case from WXYZ
More than 20,000 convicted sex offenders were removed from the Michigan Sex Offender Registry after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the 2011 Sex Offender Registration Act amendments cannot be retroactively used to extend the registration requirements of anyone who committed their crime before July 1, 2011, according to Michigan State Police.
On Friday, MSP said that information being circulated about Nassar's removal because of the Supreme Court's decision was incorrect.
7 News Detroit then reached out to the Eaton County Prosecutor's Office. And late Friday afternoon, the office released a correction. "We must correct our earlier social media post about removal of convicted sex offenders from the Michigan Sex Offender Registry." The statement goes on to say, "Now, based on a statement the Michigan State Police issued today, it appears that Nassar was not removed from the registry recently, rather he was never registered in the first place."
Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd is the Republican candidate for Michigan Attorney General.
Nassar is serving decades in prison for convictions in state and federal courts. He admitted to sexually assaulting athletes when he worked at Michigan State University and at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. Nassar also pleaded guilty in a separate case to possessing images of child sexual abuse.
It's possible Nassar was briefly on Michigan's Sex Offender Registry in 2017 but removed in 2018 when he was transferred from a Michigan prison to a federal prison in Arizona.
Once a convicted sex offender moves or is moved out of Michigan, they are no longer on Michigan's Sex Offender Registry.
Read MSP's full statement below:
"Offenders not currently domiciled, temporarily residing, working, incarcerated, or going to school in Michigan do not have the duty to register in Michigan under Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act (SORA), and would not be visible on Michigan’s public Sex Offender Registry (SOR). Should the offender later domicile (including being incarcerated), temporarily reside, work, or go to school in Michigan, they would be expected to register and be placed on Michigan’s public SOR if still required under SORA at that time.
Larry Nassar is currently serving a federal sentence out of state which must be served in its entirety before any credit is issued on his sentence under his Michigan convictions. His location in federal prison is publicly available.
Information suggesting that convicted sex offender Nassar was removed from the Sex Offender Registry by the Michigan State Police because of the Smith decision is incorrect."
The Eaton County Prosecutor's Office apologized for the confusion caused by the social media post, and said the removal of individuals from the registry
occurred quickly and without notice to local prosecutors. "As prosecutors, we have a responsibility to provide information to victims and survivors of sexual assault. These victims and the People of Eaton County deserved to know that the one-page order of the Supreme Court existed and that there were people in the community, including those who sexually assaulted them, who were no longer on the public registry."
