USA Gymnastics: Billions for Nassar's victims – Sports

The US Department of Justice will pay $138.7 million in damages to several victims of abuse committed by former sports doctor and gymnastics official Larry Nassar. According to Tuesday's statement, 139 administrative lawsuits related to allegations of sexual assault against Nassar have been settled.

In a lawsuit filed by the top security agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the affected women and girls were accused of following up on reports of abuse too late, allowing Nassar to commit more crimes for more than a year until his arrest in the fall of 2016. According to the Department of Justice, Administrative claims brought against the United States through the settlement now reached.

A total of about $1 billion in compensation

Over the course of decades, “Nassar abused his position by betraying the trust of people under his care and medical supervision while simultaneously evading responsibility,” Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer was quoted as saying in the statement: “These allegations were serious.” From the beginning, “although settlements will not undo the harm caused by Nassar, we hope they will help provide victims of his crimes with the critical support they need to continue to heal.”

Nassar, 60, was a USA Gymnastics physician and a gymnast at Michigan State University for more than 20 years. During this time he is said to have sexually assaulted 265 women and girls, including Olympic champions Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney. FBI Chief Christopher Wray acknowledged his agency's “inexcusable” failure in a statement to the US Senate in September 2021.

Nassar pleaded guilty in November 2017 and was convicted of more than 250 counts of sexual assault in three sentences totaling 175 years in prison. Victims of the abuse have already received compensation, and the total now stands at nearly $1 billion. In 2018, Nassar's former employer, Michigan State University, promised a $500 million settlement, and a $380 million agreement was reached with USA Gymnastics in 2021.