The US government will pay nearly $139 million to more than a hundred former gymnasts who were sexually abused by a former national team doctor. This is reported by the Ministry of Justice.
Larry Nassar, 60, was sentenced to a total prison term of up to 175 years in three different trials in 2017 and 2018. As team doctor for the American gymnastics team and as a professor at the University of Michigan, he is said to have sexually assaulted at least 256 young girls. Top gymnasts such as Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols testified against him.
The damages come after numerous complaints from victims who accused the FBI of failing to conduct “an adequate investigation.”
“These allegations should have been taken seriously from the outset,” acknowledged Magistrate Benjamin Mizer. “While these settlements will not erase the harm inflicted by Mr. Nassar, we hope they will help the victims of his crimes continue their healing.”
The first charges against Nassar were forwarded to the local Indianapolis FBI office in July 2015. But the investigation was quickly dropped and an additional report was required in May 2016 before federal police launched a new investigation. In July 2021, a Justice Department report concluded that “fundamental errors” had been made by officers responsible for the initial investigation.
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