Nassar survivors want to know about FBI delays

Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles and Aly Raisman are among more than 120 survivors asking the Justice Department to release its report on why the FBI waited nearly a year to investigate allegations Larry Nassar was sexually abusing athletes. NBC News reported that, in addition to the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General, the letter was sent to the FBI and ranking members of Congress. “Why is the Justice Department sitting on this report?” asks the letter, which was reviewed by NBC News. “We do not want it withheld and then have authorities claim they cannot indict and prosecute the people involved in criminal conduct because the statute of limitations has expired.” The letter from survivors comes two weeks after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, made a similar request, saying he was “deeply concerned about evidence of the FBI’s lack of urgency.” The investigation was launched two years ago, Cornyn wrote, and indications are that the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section received the completed report more than a year ago. The inspector general’s office is still investigating, spokeswoman Stephanie Logan said. “The victims and the public should rest assured our findings will be made public at the end of our investigation,” Logan told NBC News. In June 2015, Maggie Nichols’ coach reported to USA Gymnastics that she’d overheard Nichols and Raisman talking about treatments by Nassar that made them uncomfortable. The governing body waited almost five weeks before alerting the FBI in 2015. The FBI opened a case, but a congressional investigation found it “dragged on and was shuffled between field offices.” Only after USA Gymnastics inquired about the status of the case in spring 2016 did the FBI resume the investigation. Still, neither Michigan State nor a gym in Michigan where Nassar treated athletes was warned. It was only after Rachael Denhollander detailed her abuse in a September 2016 story in The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network, that allegations against Nassar became public. Nassar was arrested in December 201, after the FBI found thousands of images of child pornography. At least 40 women and girls are believed to have been abused in the 17 months between when USA Gymnastics reported Nassar to the FBI and his arrest. “It is important for our healing for all the facts to come out and for wrongdoers to be held accountable. It is also important to maintain public confidence in our federal law enforcement agencies by exposing the truth and initiating reforms so that this never happens again,” the survivors wrote. Nassar is serving an effective life sentence on federal and state charges. More than 350 girls and young women have said they were abused by Nassar, often under the guise of medical treatment.