EAST LANSING - Gretchen Whitmer, a former Ingham County prosecutor and lawmaker now running for governor, has called on the MSU Board of Trustees to "seek and accept" MSU President Lou Anna Simon's resignation.

Earlier this month, Whitmer joined the growing chorus of people calling for an independent investigation of how Michigan State University handled sexual assault allegations, some dating back decades, related to former doctor Larry Nassar. She stopped short of calling for any resignations.

More than 140 women and girls have said Nassar sexually abused them, many saying it happened decades ago and in Nassar's MSU office. Several women say they raised concerns about Nassar to MSU officials, but no action was taken.

Earlier this week, the State Journal reported that MSU allowed Nassar to see patients for 16 months while he was under criminal investigation by its own police department after a 2014 allegation of sexual assault by a female patient.

In a letter dated Dec. 22 to Brian Breslin, the chairman of the MSU Board of Trustees, Whitmer wrote, "It is with deep regret that I write to urge you and the Board of Trustees to seek and accept the resignation of President Lou Anna Simon."

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Whitmer also reiterated that she felt a "complete and thorough independent investigation" of Nassar's crimes "and all other related offenses" is needed.

"Every day we learn more about the scale and magnitude of the abuses that took place at the University over the course of many many years," Whitmer wrote. "... This is not just a court case of damages and financial responsibility. It is a matter of human suffering, the infliction of lifelong emotional trauma and University indifference."

(Read the full letter from Whitmer at the bottom of this story.)

Whitmer is an MSU alumna, with undergraduate and law school degrees from the university.

An MSU spokesman declined to comment. The Board of Trustees has supported Simon in the wake of calls for her resignation.

In an editorial by the MSU Board of Trustees in response to the State Journal Editorial Board's call for Simon to resign, the board wrote, "Our full confidence in President Lou Anna K. Simon has not wavered. We firmly believe she is the right leader for this university."

During a recent Board of Trustees meeting, Simon addressed the women and girls who have said Nassar abused them.

"I am truly sorry for the abuse you suffered, the pain it caused and the pain it continues to cause today," she said. "I'm sorry a physician who called himself a Spartan so utterly betrayed your trust and everything this university stands for."

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Whitmer served for several months of Ingham County prosecutor, including the first few months of the MSU police investigation last year following a wave of sexual assault allegations against Nassar, prompted by an Indianapolis Star story.

MSU police ultimately went to the Michigan Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office to seek charges.

In July, Nassar pleaded guilty to three federal child pornography charges and was sentenced Dec. 7 to 60 years in prison.

In November, he pleaded guilty to 10 sexual assault charges split between Ingham and Eaton counties. He's scheduled to be sentenced on those charges in January and faces a minimum sentence between 25 and 40 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of up to life in prison.

Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.

Find full coverage of Larry Nassar cases here

Timeline showing the decades-long career of Larry Nassar and the allegations against him