$139M for perv doc’s vics
Feds to resolve young athletes’ claims of FBI negligence
Victims of sexual predator and former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar will receive a collective $138.7 million from the Justice Department to resolve 139 claims of alleged FBI negligence, the agency announced Tuesday.
Nassar spent decades abusing young athletes, including Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman, before their complaints got any traction. Early filings with the FBI brought no action, and the complaints languished for months, during which even more girls and young women were abused.
The disgraced physician worked at Michigan State University and was the team doctor for USA Gymnastics until being fired once the allegations came to light. Investigators also found child sex abuse images, adding to the charges for which Nassar is now serving a life sentence. The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General released a damning report in 2021 that found FBI officials in the Indianapolis Field Office had “failed to respond to the Nassar allegations with the utmost seriousness and urgency that they deserved and required.”
Overall, a total of $1 billion has been awarded to victims by the numerous organizations that failed to stop Nassar. Michigan State University has already agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls he abused, and $380 million is coming from USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
“For decades, Lawrence Nassar abused his position, betraying the trust of those under his care and medical supervision while skirting accountability,” U.S. Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said in a statement Tuesday. “These allegations should have been taken seriously from the outset. While these settlements won’t undo the harm Nassar inflicted, our hope is that they will help give the victims of his crimes some of the critical support they need to continue healing.”
The Justice Department has approved the claims, which were hinted at last week in a report published by The Wall Street Journal.
The first victim to step up, Rachael Denhollander, was not part of the settlement but nonetheless welcomed the news.
“I’m deeply grateful. Accountability with the Justice Department has been a long time in coming,” Denhollander told The Associated Press. “The unfortunate reality is that what we are seeing today is something that most survivors never see. Most survivors never see accountability. Most survivors never see justice. Most survivors never get restitution.”