Justice Department Reaches $138.7M Settlement with Victims of Larry Nassar
The U.S. Justice Department has reached a settlement with more than 100 victims of former Olympic gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who accused the FBI of mishandling sexual assault allegations against him. The $138.7 million agreement resolves administrative claims against the FBI for its failure to adequately investigate Nassar's abuse allegations between 2015 and 2016.
Larry Nassar, once a prominent figure in sports medicine, is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence for sexually assaulting women while working as an assistant professor at MSU's Department of Family and Community Medicine and during his tenure as a team doctor at USA Gymnastics.
The settlement comes after a period of intense scrutiny of the FBI's handling of the Nassar case. Despite having knowledge of sexual misconduct and abuse allegations against Nassar for over a year, FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles failed to take action, allowing Nassar to continue his abuse unchecked. FBI Director Christopher Wray publicly apologized to Nassar's survivors during a Senate hearing in 2021, acknowledging the bureau's failures in investigating the allegations.
This settlement is part of a broader effort to compensate Nassar's victims for the trauma they endured. When combined with previous settlements, including $500 million from Michigan State University and $380 million from USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the total compensation for Nassar's survivors exceeds $1 billion.
While the settlement represents a significant step towards accountability and restitution, survivors and their advocates emphasize that it does not erase the pain and suffering caused by Nassar's actions. In a statement with The Associated Press, Rachael Denhollander, one of Nassar's first public accusers, expressed gratitude for the settlement but emphasized that "most survivors never see justice" for their suffering.
