2024-04-23 18:19:00
The United States Department of Justice announced a $138.7 million deal with more than 100 people on Tuesday who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling sexual assault allegations against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time frame that allowed the sports doctor to continue preying on victims before his arrest.
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 USA Gymnastics, based in Indianapolis. She is now serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts.
The Acting Deputy Attorney General, Benjamin Mizer, He 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 agreements 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 complaints.
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. according to an internal investigation.
The director of the FBI, Christopher Wrayappeared remorseful (and very direct) when speaking to survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. Survivors of the assault include decorated Olympic athletes Simone Biles, Aly Raisman y McKayla Maroney.
“I’m sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again,” Wray said. “And I am 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, researchers said in 2016 that 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,” he said. Rachael Denhollander of Louisville, Kentucky, who is not part of the latest settlement but was the first person to come forward publicly and detail the 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 over 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 United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee reached an agreement to 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.”
(With information from AP)
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