The US Department of Justice will pay $138.7 million in compensation to numerous victims of abuse by former sports doctor and gymnastics official Larry Nassar. According to a statement Tuesday, 139 administrative lawsuits related to allegations of sexual abuse by Nassar have been settled.
In a lawsuit filed by the highest security agency, the FBI, the women and girls affected accused them of following up on reports of abuse too late, which allowed Nassar to commit further crimes for more than a year until his arrest in fall 2016. According to the Justice Department, administrative claims against the United States have been resolved with the settlement that has now been reached.
A total of around a billion dollars in compensation
For decades, Nassar “abused his position by betraying the trust of the people under his care and medical supervision while at the same time shirking responsibility,” Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer was quoted as saying in the statement: “These allegations were serious from the outset “While the settlements will not undo the damage Nassar has caused, we hope they will help provide the critical support the victims of his crimes need to continue to heal.”
Nassar, 60, was a doctor for the USA Gymnastics Federation and the gymnasts at Michigan State University for more than 20 years. During this time he is said to have sexually abused 265 women and girls, including Olympic champions Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney. FBI chief Christopher Wray admitted 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 verdicts with sentences totaling up to 175 years in prison. The abuse victims had already been awarded compensation payments, and the total is now around one billion dollars. In 2018, Nassar’s former employer, Michigan State University, promised $500 million in a settlement, and an agreement for $380 million was reached with the USA Gymnastics Association in 2021.