Simone Biles And Fellow Gymnasts Sue FBI For $1 Billion For Failed Sexual Assault Investigation Of Larry Nassar
A group of American gymnasts had the bravery to speak out about alleged abuse that they have all suffered at the hands of Larry Nassar, the former national team doctor.
Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Makayla Maroney, and Maggie Nichols testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Congress last year in September about the FBI's mishandling of the case brought against Larry Nassar. This has become one of the most widely known sexual abuse cases in the history of American sports. Nassar pled guilty in 2017, was sentenced in 2018, and is serving up to 175 years in prison for multiple sex crimes.
Simone Biles and Fellow Gymnasts Sue FBI for $1 Billion
When she testified in front of Congress, Biles said, "I blame Larry Nassar, but I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse.” She spoke about the "exceptionally difficult burden" she has had to carry over the years and how it affects her athletic performance. Maroney testified that the FBI didn't do anything for 17 months after she disclosed her experience of abuse to them.
“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,” Maroney testified. “They chose to lie about what I said and protect a serial child molester rather than protect not only me but countless others.”
Now these young women are seeking justice from the FBI for completely botching a case in which multiple girls were abused by a sick man. The FBI knew about Nassar's abuse back in 2015, but they failed to act and interview the women who made the accusations. He was free to continue targeting young women for more than another year. Biles and dozens of other women are suing the FBI for over $1 billion for failing to stop Nassar once they received multiple allegations about him.
There are more than 90 claimants in this case, including Biles, Raisman, and Maroney. “If the FBI had simply done its job, Nassar would have been stopped before he ever had the chance to abuse hundreds of girls, including me,” said former gymnast Samantha Roy.
Despite the fact that multiple reports were made from different parts of the country, from Michigan to Los Angeles, Nassar wasn't arrested until late 2016. The attorneys on this case cite the Federal Tort Act and insist that the FBI had numerous credible complaints that they willingly ignored.
It's unforgivable that the system failed these women so many times and dozens of lives were impacted in such irreparable ways. Seeing Nassar locked up is just the beginning of justice being served. Biles and her fellow gymnasts deserve every penny of this settlement.