(Detroit) The U.S. Department of Justice announced a $138.7 million settlement Tuesday with 139 people who accused the FBI of mishandling sexual assault allegations against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical period when the sports doctor continued to assault his victims.
Factoring in other settlements, a total of $1 billion was set aside by various institutions to compensate hundreds of women who said Nassar assaulted them under the guise of treatment for sports injuries.
Nassar worked at Michigan State University and also served as a sports physician for USA Gymnastics in Indianapolis. He is currently serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including several Olympic medalists.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said Nassar betrayed the trust of the gymnasts he was supposed to help for decades and that “the allegations should have been taken seriously from the start.”
“While this settlement will not change the harm Nassar inflicted, we hope it will help provide victims with the critical support they need to continue to heal,” he said.
The Justice Department admitted that it did not intervene in time. For more than a year, FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles knew about the allegations against Nassar but took no action, according to an internal investigation.
FBI Director Christopher Wray was repentant – and very blunt – when addressing survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. Survivors of the assault include medal-winning Olympians Simone Biles , Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.
PHOTO SAUL LOEB, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Gymnast Simon Biles during his Senate hearing in 2021.
“I’m sorry that so many different people have let you down, over and over again,” Mr. Wray said. And I’m especially sorry that there are people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster in 2015 and failed. »
In 2016, after a search, investigators found images of child sexual abuse and brought federal charges against Nassar. At the same time, the Michigan attorney general’s office handled the accusations that ultimately shocked the sports world.
“I am deeply grateful. But accountability from the Justice Department has been a long time coming,” said Rachael Denhollander of Louisville, Kentucky, who was not involved in the latest settlement but was the first to denounce Nassar’s abuses.
“The sad reality is that what we are seeing today is something most survivors never see,” said Ms.me Denhollander to the Associated Press. Most survivors never see settlements. Most survivors never see justice served. Most survivors never receive compensation. »
Michigan State University, which has been accused of letting Nassar go free for many years, has agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 assaulted women and girls. Likewise, USA Gymnastics and the American Olympic and Paralympic Committee reached an agreement worth US$380 million to compensate victims.
Mick Grewal, a lawyer who has represented 44 people in claims against the government, said the $1 billion settlement speaks to “the horror that happened.”
A retired federal judge, Gregory Sleet, served as mediator for the federal claims.
“It took more than six years of tears, pain and relentless effort by Nassar’s victims, including many of our country’s most famous athletes, to shine the light of justice on the terrible mistakes committed by senior FBI officials and demand accountability,” said John Manly, one of the lead attorneys.