Why are Larry Nassar Victims Suing the FBI? Survivors seek over $1B from authorities

Victims of Larry Nassar are suing the FBI for allegedly mishandling the case (image via Jeff Kowalsky/Getty)

As of June 2022, almost 90 women and girls, all abuse victims of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, have submitted claims for over $1 billion to the FBI, accusing the investigators of mishandling the case.

58-year-old Larry Nassar is a former osteopathic surgeon who served as the team doctor of the United States national gymnastics team for 18 years, from 1996 to 2014. According to NBC, gymnasts treated by Nassar had complained that he had been assaulting young women since the 90s.

The formal FBI investigation into the activities of Larry Nassar began in 2016. However, he was only arrested in fall of 2016 by the Michigan State University police. On 7 December 2017, Larry Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for various charges related to child abuse and evidence tampering.

The New York Times reported that in 2022, former Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, and various other women filed a claim under the Federal Tort Claims act against the FBI. The former victims contend that the FBI’s inability to handle the case allowed Larry Nassar to allegedly continue abusing the young women who came to him for help.

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How did the FBI mishandle the Larry Nassar case?

According to Fox News, in 2015, the FBI first received reports claiming that Larry Nasser had been preying on gymnasts under his care. A Justice Department Inspector General report stated that the FBI did not file an investigation when these complaints were first received.

In a formal claim, five of the former gymnasts also brought up the FBI’s failure to act against Larry Nasser in time.

The statement said:

"FBI officials, who possessed this knowledge and were in a position to end Nassar’s predation, were grossly derelict in their duties resulting in Nassar sexually assaulting approximately 100 young women and children between July 28, 2015, and September 12, 2016.”

It added:

“Larry Nasser conspired with the highest-ranking officials within the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, Inc. to conceal this known sexual abuse from foreseeable victims."

One of the gymnasts, McKayla Maroney, repeated this sentiment in another statement.

She said:

“My fellow survivors and I were betrayed by every institution that was supposed to protect us - the US Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, the FBI and now the Department of Justice”

In September, after the DOJ Inspector General’s report outlined how the FBI had failed to act, Maroney, Biles, Raisman, and Maggie Nichols explained how they had been treated by investigators to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Maroney said:

"After telling my entire story of abuse to the FBI in the summer of 2015 not only did the FBI not report my abuse, but when they eventually documented my report 17 months later they made entirely false claims about what I said."

At a Senate hearing, FBI Director Chris Wray apologized for how the bureau handled the case. This is despite the fact that he was not holding office at the time of the accusations. He said:

“I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed. And that’s inexcusable”

According to CBS, many gymnasts won a separate settlement against Michigan State University and the U.S Olympic and Paralympic Committee. The organizations were accused of protecting Larry Nasser from persecution. The University agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women. The Olympic and Paralympic committee decided on a settlement for $380 million.