Michigan State University and its doctors took 17 months to notify the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs that one of its medical resident physicians was barred from caring for patientsand eventually was fired following allegations of sexual abuse.
In that time, there was no indication of any disciplinary action marked on Arpit Saxena's medical licenses, and no notation that he was under investigation or had been dismissed for misconduct, according to documents obtained by the Detroit Free Press under the Freedom of Information Act.
It means Saxena could have worked elsewhere during that time, and his new employer would have been unaware of the allegations against him, allowing him to continue the same pattern of behavior that six
patients now allege was not medical treatment but sexual abuse.
The first patient accused Saxena of sexually assaulting her during a medical appointment at the MSU Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Clinic in East Lansing on April 3, 2025. Yet it took until Sept. 9, 2026, for anyone at the university to alert LARA, said Anastasha Osborn, director of communications for the agency.
"That is completely outrageous," said Megan Bonanni, an attorney for one of the six patients who alleges she was assaulted by Saxena at the MSU clinic. "There is no excuse for such delayed reporting and, in my opinion, it may break the law."
Whether it's against the law remains an open question — as the Michigan Public Health Code requires some, but not all, medical facilities in the state to report to LARA within 30 days when a licensed health professional is under investigation for misconduct, as well as when a person's clinical privileges are restricted or revoked because of incompetence or improper professional conduct.
It also requires an "immediate" report to LARA "upon any event that causes the licensee to no longer be appointed to the training program," such as a medical residency, Osborn said in an email message to the Detroit Free Press.
However, it remains unclear whether the MSU clinic where Saxena worked is classified under the Article 17 provision of the state's Public Health Code and falls under the 30-day notification mandate for reporting or the immediate reporting requirement for medical residents accused of misdeeds.
Article 17 applies to hospitals, ambulance operations, laboratories, county-operated facilities providing inpatient care, freestanding birth centers and outpatient surgical facilities, health maintenance organizations, hospice facilities, nursing homes and homes for the aged as well as mobile dental facilities.
The Detroit Free Press asked MSU for details about when and how it reported the allegations against Saxena to the state licensing agency, including why it took so long to alert LARA of its investigation, of the change in Saxena's clinical access to patients, of his Oct. 8, 2025, dismissal from the residency program, and more.
University spokesperson Amber McCann said, however, that she did not have details to share.
She also did not answer questions about MSU's obligation to inform the licensing/regulatory agency that oversees physicians in the state of serious allegations that could affect the safety of others or about whether the university has protocol that spells out the process for reporting.
Saxena, 40, a native of India, was living with his wife and two small children in Alabama before his Sept. 10, 2026, arrest at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. There, U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement reported he was detained while trying to board a plane for Amsterdam with a final destination of India, an effort to flee the country.
Saxena had a controlled substance license and an osteopathic physician educational license issued by LARA on May 1, 2024. Those licenses were active in Michigan until June 30, 2026, when they subsequently lapsed and were not renewed, documents show.
He was criminally chargedon Sept. 3, 2026, with three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, a misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in jail or prison, a fine of up to $500, or both.
Bonanni called MSU's failure to report to LARA in a timely manner the allegations of sexual assault, its criminal investigation, or its dismissal of Saxena from its residency program "troubling."
"It is demonstrating that MSU did not take every step necessary to protect its own patients, including making sure that this physician accused of harming patients can no longer practice medicine," said Bonanni, of the Royal Oak-based firm Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers.
"This is a step that you must take when you receive a complaint of this nature. It is a must. ... You would hope that an institution would learn a lesson. And your hope is always that they're going to do better next time. Watching this timeline unfold and the investigation deepen is only solidifying in my mind that once again, there has been an effort to protect the institution at the expense of patients."
Another way failing to report can lead to trouble
Although it is unclear whether the MSU Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Clinic where Saxena worked falls within Article 17 of the Michigan Public Health Code, there is another section of the law — Section MCL 333.16222 — that could entangle some of Saxena's co-workers.
That part of the law stipulates that if another licensed medical provider knew about the sexual misconduct allegations against Saxena but didn't promptly report them to LARA, they could be sanctioned and face disciplinary action themselves.
Eight years ago, another MSU physician was caught up in that provision of the Public Health Code.
Dr. William Strampel, the former dean of the university's College of Osteopathic Medicine, was accused of aiding or abetting former sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar in violations of the Michigan Public Health Code. Nassar is serving life in prison after being convicted on child pornography and sexual assault charges for abusing hundreds of girls and women for decades as a physician at MSU, through his work for USA Gymnastics and elsewhere.
In bringing an administrative complaint in 2018, then-Attorney General Bill Schuette said Strampel knew about Nassar's sexual misconduct but failed to properly supervise Nassar and didn't report it to LARA.
A year later, Strampel permanently surrendered his license to practice medicine and was ordered to pay a $35,000 fine.
Michael Nichols, an East Lansing-based attorney representing "Jane Doe No. 4," who alleges she also was sexually assaulted by Saxena at the MSU clinic on two occasions in February and March 2025, said that as more evidence is revealed about who knew about Saxena's alleged misconduct, what they knew and when they knew it, it'll be more clear whether there were violations of state statutes and reporting laws.
"Somebody somewhere at some point fell asleep at the switch," Nichols said. "It appears to be a pattern of MSU just simply not paying attention, and if they were, not doing anything about clear red flags."
'Exact same dynamic' as Larry Nassar
Saxena treated 105 patients during his time at the MSU clinic from July 1, 2024, to April 7, 2025, McCann said.
All of them have been sent letters from the university to advise them of the charges against Saxena and to urge them to come forward if they suspect they also were assaulted during treatment. An MSU Department of Police and Public Safety hotline and email address were set up so people could call 844-996-7873 or send an email to tips@police.msu.edu if they have concerns about their care.
Bonanni said the number of patients who were assaulted by Saxena is far greater than the six who have reported abuse thus far.
"I have been contacted by multiple women who are struggling with coming forward and are communicating with me in anonymous fashion," she said. "That speaks to how traumatizing this experience is. They need time to feel ready to take a stand."
Nichols, who also represented several of Nassar's sexual assault victims, said he suspects Saxena was acting on a pattern of behavior that likely predates his time working as a medical resident at MSU.
The notice of intent to sue Nichols filed on behalf of his client earlier this month in the Michigan Court of Claims references additional reports of sexual assault dating back to Saxena's time working as a medical resident for Cahaba Medical Center in Centreville, Alabama, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Nichols said he has requested documents from authorities in Alabama but that he has "not seen anything in writing" to verify those reports. Still, he said, in his 27 years practicing law, cases like these rarely are isolated incidents.
"There has to be more," he said. "It's not the kind of thing where you do it and it's a one off. ... We had four Nassar clients, and it's the exact same dynamic. And it's difficult and it's eye-popping to be an alum of the university and to realize we didn't learn the lessons from the first time around, apparently."
The Detroit Free Press contacted Cahaba Medical Center, which is affiliated with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, for information about Saxena's previous work history and to ask about allegations of sexual assault or harassment during his tenure.
In an emailed statement, the medical center said only this: "The safety and well-being of our patients is our highest priority. This individual is no longer affiliated with Cahaba Medical Care. Because this is an active legal matter, we are unable to comment further."
The Alabama Medical Licensure Commission did not return phone calls from a Detroit Free Press reporter seeking details about whether there had been any disciplinary action or reports of misconduct dating back to August 2021-December 2023, when Saxena held a limited doctor of osteopathic medicine license and a full, unrestricted controlled substance license in Alabama.
The Alabama Open Records Act does not require public bodies, including the Alabama Medical Licensure Commission, to provide access to public records to anyone who does not live in Alabama or own a business in Alabama.
Anyone with concerns about their treatment under Saxena's care is urged to call the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety hotline at 844-996-7873 or send an email to tips@police.msu.edu. Support and resources are available through the Center for Survivors by calling 517-372-6666.
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MSU didn't report sexual assault claims against doctor for 17 months
