Justice Department settles claims over USA Gymnastics investigation

The Justice Department on Tuesday announced settlements involving administrative claims that the FBI failed to conduct sufficient investigations into disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar, more than two years after a watchdog report into the agency’s handling of allegations convicted of sexual abuse.

The department said in a news release that settlement agreements resolved 139 claims totaling $138.7 million involving Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics national team doctor who was sentenced to a maximum of 175 years in prison on charges related with sexual abuse of minors. .

Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said in a statement that Nassar abused his position for decades and “violated the trust of those under his care and medical supervision while evading accountability.”

“These allegations should have been taken seriously from the beginning,” Mizer said. “While these settlements will not undo the damage Nassar has caused, we hope they will provide the victims of his crimes with some of the crucial support they need to continue the recovery.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., posted on social media that “the FBI’s mishandling of sexual assault allegations against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016 was unacceptable.”

“While the FBI delayed, Nassar was still preying on victims,” Durbin wrote. “This settlement will not undo the damage, but it will support victims as they continue to pursue justice.”

In 2021, a report from the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General found that senior officials at the FBI’s Indianapolis field office failed to respond to Nassar’s allegations “with the utmost seriousness and urgency they deserved ‘ and ‘made numerous and fundamental mistakes when they did respond to them.”

After being informed of the allegations against Nassar, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana and the FBI field office had “serious questions” about whether the allegations were “sufficient to support federal jurisdiction,” the inspector general’s report said.

“Yet the Indianapolis Field Office did not notify state or local authorities of the allegations and took no action to limit the risk to gymnasts who continued to treat Nassar,” the report said.

The Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the report that year, which included testimony from four Team USA gymnasts.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said at the panel hearing that he was sorry that “there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster in 2015 and failed.”

“It should never have happened,” said Wray, who did not lead the FBI in 2015 and 2016, when the Nassar investigation should have taken place.

The Nassar scandal also led to legislative action.

Last year, President Joe Biden signed a bill that supporters say will improve the FBI’s treatment of child victim witnesses. The legislation was supported by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Chris Coons, D-Del., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

According to supporters, the bill would require the agency to “use multidisciplinary teams in investigating child sexual abuse cases, material child sexual abuse cases, and child trafficking cases.”