A former Michigan State University resident physician accused of sexually assaulting two women during medical exams was taken into custody Thursday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, more than a year after the university first pulled him from patient care. Arpit Saxena, 39, is now being held at the Clayton County Jail in Jonesboro, Georgia, pending extradition back to Michigan to face criminal sexual conduct charges.
According to CBS Detroit, Saxena was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, and is held pending extradition to Ingham County, Michigan, where the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office issued charges against him on September 3, 2026. He faces three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, stemming from complaints filed by two women who were examined by Saxena at an MSU Health Care facility.
The case dates back to April 3, 2025, when MSU police responded to a sexual assault complaint at the MSU Health Care facility on Hagardon Road after a female patient reported that Saxena assaulted her during an examination. As detailed by The State News, university officials removed Saxena from seeing patients just four days later, on April 7, 2025, before moving to terminate his employment. He had been hired by MSU in July 2024 as a resident physician.
Special Victims Unit Uncovers Second Complaint
The State News reports that the MSU Police Department's Special Victims Unit spearheaded the inquiry immediately following the initial complaint, which allowed officers to identify a second victim who came forward alleging assault by Saxena. Police finalized their investigation file in August 2025 before submitting it to the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office on August 28, 2026, for review.
Michigan State University said in a statement that patients deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and professionalism, and the university regrets that this trust was broken. The university added that it takes reports of sexual abuse or misconduct extremely seriously and has a responsibility to ensure patient safety.
Outreach to Patients Seen During Nine-Month Tenure
MSU Health Care has initiated direct contact with all patients who were examined by Saxena during his roughly nine-month employment at the university, according to WKAR. Investigators are actively encouraging anyone treated by Saxena between July 1, 2024, and April 7, 2025, to report any inappropriate conduct experienced during appointments. Tips can be submitted to [email protected] or by calling 844-99-MSUPD.
MSU Police Department Chief Mike Yankowski said that extraditing Saxena from Georgia back to Ingham County will require a minimum timeline of two weeks, meaning he remains held in Georgia while local authorities coordinate the transfer. That window leaves open the possibility that additional patients could come forward before he is returned to face the charges in Michigan.
A Doctor's Background and the Post-Nassar Safeguards
Before joining MSU as a resident physician, Saxena earned a PhD in Exercise Science from the University of South Carolina in 2015 and a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from William Carey University in 2021, according to background compiled by the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He had previously conducted medical research on colorectal disease before completing his clinical osteopathic training.
The arrest lands at an institution still shaped by its response to former sports physician Larry Nassar. Following federal civil-rights investigations into Nassar's abuse of patients, MSU Health Care instituted a mandatory chaperone policy requiring a second health team member during sensitive medical exams, a mandate codified in a 2019 agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as reported by PBS News.
Statutory Penalties and a Pending Legislative Push
Under Michigan Penal Code Section 750.520d, third-degree criminal sexual conduct is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison and carries mandatory lifetime placement on the sex offender registry, according to Grabel & Associates. Fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, covered under Section 750.520e, is classified as a high-court misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison, a $500 fine, and mandatory sex offender registration, per the Barone Defense Firm.
The arrest also arrives amid a fresh statewide policy debate. Michigan House Republicans introduced a four-bill legislative package, HB 6260 through 6263, on September 9, 2026, proposing a mandatory five-year minimum prison sentence for third-degree CSC and elevating fourth-degree CSC to a felony. The bills, according to Michigan House Republicans, were referred to the House Judiciary Committee just two days before Saxena's arrest was announced.
For now, Saxena remains in custody at the Clayton County Jail as MSU police and Georgia authorities work through the extradition process. University investigators continue to urge former patients to come forward as the case moves toward Saxena's return to Michigan to face the charges filed against him.
