DOJ agrees $138.7m payout to young women abused by ex-USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar… after FBI ‘grossly mishandled’ allegations of sexual assault against ‘monster’

The US Department of Justice on Tuesday announced a $138.7 million settlement with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of seriously mishandling sexual assault allegations against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time frame. which allowed the sports doctor to continue taking advantage of the victims before. arrest him.

Combined with other settlements, several organizations have set aside $1 billion to compensate hundreds of women who said Nassar assaulted them under the guise of receiving treatment for sports injuries.

Nassar worked at Michigan State University and also served as a team doctor at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. he is now serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said Nassar betrayed the trust of those under his care for decades and that “the allegations should have been taken seriously from the beginning.”

“While these settlements will not undo the harm Nassar inflicted, our hope is that they will help provide victims of his crimes with some of the critical support they need to continue healing,” Mizer said of the agreement to resolve 139 claims.

The Justice Department has acknowledged that it did not intervene. For more than a year, FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles were aware of the allegations against him but apparently took no action, and internal investigation found.

FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared contrite and blunt when speaking to survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. Survivors of the assault include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.

“I’m sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again,” Wray said. “And I’m especially sorry that there were people in the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster in 2015 and failed.”

After a search, investigators said in 2016 they had found images of child sexual abuse and filed federal charges against Nassar. Separately, the Michigan attorney general’s office handled assault charges that ultimately shocked the sports world and led to an extraordinary day-long sentencing hearing with gripping testimony about his crimes.

‘I am deeply grateful. Accountability to the Department of Justice has been a long time coming,” said Rachael Denhollander of Louisville, Kentucky, who was not part of the latest settlement but was the first person to come forward publicly and detail abuse at the hands of Nassar.

“The unfortunate reality is that what we are seeing today is something that most survivors never see,” Denhollander told The Associated Press. ‘Most survivors never see accountability. Most survivors never see justice. Most survivors never get restitution.

Michigan State University, which was also accused of missing opportunities for many years to stop Nassar, agreed to pay 500 million dollars to more than 300 women and girls who were attacked. USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. reached an agreement of 380 million dollars.

Mick Grewal, a lawyer who represented 44 people in lawsuits against the government, said the $1 billion in total settlements speaks to “the travesty that occurred.”