By: Akanksha
Former Michigan State University (MSU) resident physician Dr. Arpit Saxena has been charged with sexually assaulting two female patients during medical appointments at an MSU Health Care facility in East Lansing. Saxena, who worked as an osteopathic manipulative medicine resident at the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine from July 2024 until April 2025, faces three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
On September 3, 2026, the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office authorized a felony warrant for Saxena’s arrest. He was arrested at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia on September 10, 2026, and held pending extradition to Michigan. He has not been convicted of the charges against him and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Saxena is scheduled for a preliminary examination in the 54-B District Court in East Lansing on October 29.
The investigation began on the evening of Thursday, April 3, 2025, when a patient contacted the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety (MSU DPPS) immediately after an appointment with Saxena and reported that he had sexually assaulted her during treatment.
Despite the initial report, Saxena continued seeing patients on Friday, April 4, 2025. A second patient later alleged that Saxena sexually assaulted her during an appointment on that day. As reported by the Detroit Free Press, attorney Lawrence P. Nolan stated in a November 2025 Court of Claims notice of intent to sue that Saxena “inserted a bare, gloveless finger” into his client’s vagina without obtaining consent for a genital examination or asking if she wanted a chaperone present.
In a statement provided to ClickOnDetroit (Local 4), MSU explained that MSU DPPS reached out to other campus units on the morning of April 4, and the MSU Office of Health Sciences and MSU Health Care triage response team convened at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, April 7, 2025. Saxena was removed from patient care on the same day, and was formally dismissed by the university on October 8, 2025.
MSU said its response protocol requires a multidisciplinary triage team to review reports of conduct by healthcare providers during clinical care that could violate the university’s Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct and Title IX Policy. The team assesses potential risks to patients and considers interim employment actions, including removal from patient care.
MSU took 17 months from the time Saxena was removed from patient care to alert the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) on September 9, 2026. Under Section 333.20175(10) of Michigan’s Public Health Code, healthcare facilities must report specified disciplinary actions to LARA within 30 days, including actions that change a healthcare professional’s employment status or adversely affect clinical privileges. The requirement also covers certain restrictions on clinical privileges when a professional is under investigation.As reported by ClickOnDetroit, LARA confirmed in a statement that it “did not receive a report of disciplinary action from Michigan State University during those 30 days.”
Attorney Megan Bonanni, who represents one of the former patients accusing Saxena, stated concerning the 17 month reporting gap: “That is a delay that is inexcusable.”
“I was hopeful at the end of the Nassar litigation that policies would change, the university’s approach to these problems would change, and this 17-month delay is just solidifying that no, things really haven’t changed,” Bonanni told East Lansing Info. “They very well should have taken him off the job immediately. They should have promptly investigated and reported to LARA. Those three things didn’t happen.”
The reporting failure extended beyond Saxena’s removal from patient care. According to an October 16 report by the Detroit Free Press, LARA also said MSU failed to notify the agency within the required period when Saxena was dismissed from his residency program on October 8, 2025. The agency stated that the law does not specify a penalty for failing to meet these reporting deadlines.
The Detroit Free Press also reported that Saxena’s Michigan osteopathic physician educational and controlled-substance licenses, both issued on May 1, 2024, lapsed on June 30, 2026, and were not renewed. According to records reviewed by the newspaper, his licensing records contained no notation of disciplinary action, an ongoing investigation or dismissal for misconduct during his employment at MSU. The newspaper noted that the absence of such information could have left a subsequent employer unaware of the allegations and the university’s investigation.
Separately, an October 17 report by The Detroit News, republished by AOL, stated that MSU’s Title IX investigation concluded in April 2026 and found that Saxena had violated the university’s sexual misconduct policies. The report noted that MSU had not notified LARA even after the investigation concluded.
Saxena treated 105 patients during his residency at MSU. Since law enforcement established a tip line following the September 2026 announcement of criminal charges, MSU DPPS confirmed to ClickOnDetroit that it has opened four additional active and ongoing investigations based on new reports, separate from the two reports that resulted in the initial criminal charges.
Multiple former patients have filed notices of intent to pursue civil claims against MSU and Saxena, alleging they were abused under the guise of legitimate medical care:
January 2025 Incident: Attorneys Megan Bonanni and Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller filed a Court of Claims notice for a client who sought treatment from Saxena on January 9, 2025, for postpartum hip and groin pain. Esser-Weidenfeller stated, “She came in for hip pain, groin pain, after childbirth and Dr. Saxena proceeded to grope her breasts, he had her get on the table, and he got on the table with her, and was massaging her buttocks, thrusting himself against her.” The filing notes the patient only realized she had been assaulted after receiving a notification letter from MSU in September 2026.
Neck and Back Pain Appointments: Attorney Mike Nichols represents another patient who visited Saxena twice for back and neck pain. Both visits were classified as “non-sensitive examinations,” meaning no chaperone was present. “It’s pretty simple, she was sexually assaulted under the guise of providing legitimate medical treatment,” Nicholas told ClickOnDetroit.
Why Did MSU’s Chaperone Policy Fail to Prevent the Alleged Assaults?
Under MSU Health Care policy —implemented following the Larry Nassar scandal— patients must be offered a chaperone and provide informed consent for all sensitive examinations, treatments, or procedures. However, Valerie von Frank, executive director of Parents of Sister Survivors Engage, noted that perpetrators bypass this safeguard by framing abuse as routine, non-sensitive care: “The person has to announce that it’s a sensitive procedure, which by definition takes away the element that they’re using, that these two doctors have used, the current one it’s alleged, but it’s the surprise and the sort of intimation that this routine and it’s not special and it’s not a sensitive exam, that’s what they have used.”
Prior to his residency at MSU, Saxena held a medical license in Alabama from 2021 until 2023. According to a legal notice filed on behalf of a patient identified as Jane Doe #4, Saxena was accepted into MSU’s residency program after being discharged from Alabama-based Cahaba Medical Care due to “several allegations of sexual assault,” as reported by WLNS.
In a statement to WLNS, Cahaba Medical Care confirmed Saxena’s prior employment, and said, “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.”
Additionally, E. Wilson Hunter, General Counsel for the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, said that the Board is reviewing the circumstances surrounding Saxena’s practice in Alabama and whether reporting requirements were followed, prompting the Alabama Department of Public Health to issue a statewide reminder to hospitals on October 19 regarding their legal reporting obligations.
MSU maintains it was unaware of any previous allegations against Saxena when he was selected through the national residency match process, noting they did not appear on his criminal background check and were not disclosed on his required attestations.
MSU stated in a report by WLNS, “At MSU, resident physicians are subject to the university’s criminal background check and are required to disclose any past professional misconduct or sanctions, formal employment disciplinary action, civil right violations, and certain arrests and convictions.”
In response to questions regarding current patient protections, MSU stated that it has engaged an external medical review firm to strengthen investigative procedures for incidents involving medical treatment, formalized a Mandatory Reporting policy in 2023, and established a Personnel File Policy requiring all Title IX determinations to be placed in an employee’s permanent record.
MSU Police and Public Safety is asking anyone treated by Saxena between July 1, 2024 and April 7, 2025, who experienced concerning or inappropriate conduct to contact their hotline at 844-996-7873 (844-99-MSUPD) or email tips [at] police [dot] msu [dot] edu.
Supportive resources are also available 24 hours a day through the MSU Center for Survivors at 517-372-6666.
(Rh/APC/MSM)
