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04/17 18:00 CDT Lawyers for Nassar assault survivors have reached $100M deal
with Justice Department, AP source says
Lawyers for Nassar assault survivors have reached $100M deal with Justice
Department, AP source says
By ED WHITE
Associated Press
The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to
settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by
sports doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations
told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The deal has not been finalized and no money has been paid, the source said on
condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak before a
formal announcement.
An internal investigation found that FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations by
women more than a year before Nassar was arrested in 2016.
The settlement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. A Justice
Department spokesperson declined to comment.
Nassar was a Michigan State University sports doctor as well as a doctor at
Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. He is serving decades in prison for
assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts, under the
guise of treatment.
Lawyers filed claims against the government, focusing on a 15-month period when
FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles had knowledge of allegations against
Nassar but apparently took no action, beginning in 2015. The Justice Department
inspector general confirmed fundamental errors.
Nassar's assaults continued until his arrest in fall 2016, authorities said.
The assault survivors include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and
McKayla Maroney.
"I'm sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again,"
FBI Director Christopher Wray told survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. "And
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."
The Michigan attorney general's office ultimately handled the assault charges
against Nassar, while federal prosecutors in western Michigan filed a child sex
abuse images case against him.
Michigan State University, which was also accused of missing chances over many
years to stop Nassar, agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and
girls who were assaulted. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic
Committee made a $380 million settlement.
