Washington. The United States Department of Justice reported this Tuesday that it will disburse $138.7 million to compensate hundreds of victims of sexual abuse committed by former national gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.
Nassar, 60, worked as a doctor at the USA Gymnastics Federation and Michigan State University for more than two decades.
“Lawrence Nassar abused his position, betraying the trust of those under his care and medical supervision,” Deputy Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said in a statement.
The allegations against him, Mizer added, “should have been taken seriously from the beginning.”
“While these agreements cannot reverse the damage inflicted by Nassar, our hope is that they will help give victims of his crimes some of the support they need to continue healing,” he added.
Nassar was arrested in 2016 in Michigan and was sentenced in 2018 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing more than 250 athletes, including Olympic medalists such as Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.
During his trial he admitted to having sexually assaulted athletes while working at the US Gymnastics Federation, Michigan State University and in a room in Lansing, in the same state.
More than 150 victims confronted him during the trial by offering their testimonies about the abuse they suffered from the until then renowned doctor.
An internal investigation concluded that there were errors in the handling of complaints received against Nassar.
The inaction of the authorities allowed the doctor to sexually assault more young people until he was finally arrested in 2016.
The agreements announced Monday “will resolve administrative complaints against the United States that alleged that the FBI failed to conduct an adequate investigation into Nassar’s conduct,” the Justice Department said.
In testimony before a United States Senate committee in September 2021, FBI Director Christopher Wray acknowledged the agency’s failures, which he described as “inexcusable.”
“I’m especially sorry that there were people in the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster in 2015 and failed,” Wray said, addressing the doctor’s victims.
Nassar’s victims reached a $380 million settlement with the USA Gymnastics Federation in 2021.
The Federation declared bankruptcy in 2018 after a wave of accusations against Nassar swamped the organization.
Michigan State University also reached a $500 million settlement with hundreds of Nassar victims in 2018.
Nassar was stabbed by another inmate in July last year at the Florida state prison where he is serving his sentence, but recovered from his injuries.
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– 2024-04-24 17:09:07
