Department of Justice Reached $139M Settlement After FBI Failed To Look Into Larry Nassar Gymnastics Abuse Complaints

A settlement of $138.7 million was reached on April 23 between the Department of Justice and more than 100 victims of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar over the FBI’s failure to investigate sexual assault claims. 

Over 150 women and girls, including Olympic medalists Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Maggie Nichols, all blasted Nassar for sexually abusing them under the guise of performing medical treatments. Victims say the FBI didn’t do enough to investigate their claims. “For decades, Lawrence Nassar abused his position, betraying the trust of those under his care and medical supervision while skirting accountability,” acting associate attorney general Benjamin Mizer said in a statement. 

“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 DOJ didn’t back away from their failures. A bombshell report revealed that senior FBI officials in the Indianapolis field office did not respond to the allegations and made several key errors when they finally did. It was a violation of FBI policies when working through investigative activity. 

Victim attorney John Manly criticized the FBI and highlighted if they had moved faster, there may have been different results. He also touched on the settlement closing the doors “to one of the darkest chapters – if not the darkest chapter – in American sports history.” “It’s at some level feeling victorious but also at some level just profound sadness knowing that, had the FBI acted when this was reported … over 100 children would not have been molested by Larry Nassar,” Manly said.

The disgraced doctor was finally arrested in 2016 and later, in 2018, was convicted of sexually abusing the young athletes, with a sentence of up to 175 years in prison. For their part in the crimes, USA Gymnastics agreed to pay out $380 million to hundreds of female survivors to settle their claims in 2021.

Since his sentencing, it is said that Nassar has been assaulted in prison, including multiple stabbings in 2023. Manly said he and the victims are proud of the settlement, but it’s “not justice” as there are still agents who have not been held accountable for mishandling the case.

“So, the settlement is an imperfect result, but it’s one I’m very proud of, and I think our clients are proud of,” the attorney said. “And it was the result of a massive struggle.”

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