It has been reported that the U.S. government has agreed to pay over $100 million in settlement funds in a lawsuit filed by victims of sexual assault against the former doctor of the U.S. gymnastics team against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on the 23rd (local time) that it has agreed to pay a total of $138.7 million to the victims to settle the 139 lawsuits filed against the FBI by victims of sexual assault by Larry Nassar (60), who worked as a team doctor for the gymnastics team.
The Department of Justice emphasized, “Nassar’s allegations should have been taken seriously from the beginning,” and “while this settlement cannot undo the harm Nassar caused, we hope it provides the support victims need for their ongoing healing process.”
Previously, victims of sexual assault, including U.S. gymnastics ace Simone Biles and London Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney, filed a lawsuit in 2022, alleging that the FBI did not properly investigate Nassar’s crimes, leading to continued harm.
Nassar, who worked as a team doctor since 1986, committed sexual offenses against female athletes regularly.
The FBI first became aware of Nassar’s crimes and launched an investigation in July 2015. However, the actual indictment did not occur until November 2016 due to delays in the investigation.
Amidst this, it was revealed that the FBI agent who interviewed victim Maroney in the early stages of the investigation in 2015 did not write a statement until after Nassar was indicted in 2017.
In a U.S. Senate hearing held in September 2021, Maroney revealed that it was mentally difficult to testify about the sexual assault to the FBI agent. However, she testified that it was more painful that the FBI ignored her statement.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Inspector General’s Office also released a report criticizing certain aspects of the FBI’s response and investigation into Nassar’s allegations in July 2021.
The U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF) and the U.S. Olympic Committee also settled lawsuits with over 500 victims for their responsibility in ignoring Nassar’s crimes, agreeing to pay a total of $380 million (approximately 5.228 trillion won) in settlement funds in December 2021.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Michigan State University, where Nassar committed his crimes over several years, also agreed to pay $500 million to over 300 victims for its responsibility in ignoring his crimes.
Attorney Mick Grewal, who represented 44 victims, emphasized that the fact that the total settlement for the Nassar-related lawsuits amounted to $1 billion speaks to the shocking tragedy that occurred.
To this, in 2018, Nassar was sentenced to 60 years and up to 175 years in prison for federal crimes and violating Michigan state law, respectively.
