U.S. reaches $138.7 million settlement with Nassar victims
- The Justice Department has reached a $138.7 million settlement with the victims of Larry Nassar
- Internal investigations led the FBI to admit it had failed to notify local authorities about abuse allegations against Nassar
- The settlement is the latest payout to victims of Nassar’s abuse
The U.S. Department of Justice agreed to pay over $138 million to the victims of former sports doctor Larry Nassar to resolve 139 claims that the FBI failed to adequately investigate reports of alleged abuse.
An investigation by the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General found that FBI agents in Indianapolis made “fundamental errors” by not notifying other FBI offices or other state and local authorities about abuse allegations against Nassar, NBC reported.
USA Gymnastics, which is based in Indianapolis, had reported abuse allegations made by multiple gymnasts to the FBI’s field office there in July of 2015. Nassar was a physician and medical coordinator for the organization and was also a medical doctor at Michigan State University.
Related:
- Michigan State University to release Nassar documents after years of delay
- Michigan State to raise room and board; still won’t release Nassar docs
Nassar, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to sexually assaulting hundreds of girls and women while performing medical exams, received a prison sentence of 40 to 175 years in Ingham County court. He also received two other lengthy sentences: 60 years in federal prison on child pornography charges and 40 to 125 years in Eaton County.
“For decades, Lawrence Nassar abused his position, betraying the trust of those under his care and medical supervision while skirting accountability,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer in a statement.
“These allegations should have been taken seriously from the outset. While these settlements won’t undo the harm Nassar inflicted, our hope is that they will help give the victims of his crimes some of the critical support they need to continue healing.”
The settlement is the latest for victims of Nassar’s abuse. In 2021, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee agreed to pay victims $380 million. In 2018, Michigan State University reached a $500 million settlement with survivors. According to the settlement, $425 million was for victims while $75 million was for a trust fund to protect future victims who claimed Nassar abused them.
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