More than 90 women who claimed that former US Gymnastics Federation doctor Larry Nassar had sexually assaulted them on Wednesday sued the FBI over the negligence that led to the first allegations against him. New York Times. Nassar, who abused more than 330 young people, is serving a sentence of 40 to 175 years in prison for an additional 60 years for child pornography, which carries a de facto life sentence.
The plaintiffs are Olympic gold medalists in gymnastics Simon Bailes, Ali Raisman and McKeila Maron, as well as former University of Michigan gymnast Samantha Roy and former gymnast Kyle Lorinc, who now works as a lawyer for victims of sexual violence. In April, 13 more victims filed other complaints against the FBI. Reports AP.
“My surviving compatriots and I have betrayed every institution we need to protect: the United States Olympic Committee, the U.S. Gymnastics Federation, the FBI, and now the Department of Justice,” Maron said in a statement. NYT. “It is clear that the only way to justice and healing is through legal process,” he added.
FBI admits ‘major mistakes’
FBI Director Christopher Ray acknowledged significant flaws in the Nassar investigation last year. “I’m especially sorry that there were people in the FBI who had a chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and they could not. And that’s unforgivable, “Reim told the U.S. Senate hearing.
The Gymnastics Federation headquarters in Indianapolis told local officials in 2015 that three gymnasts said they had been attacked by Nasar, the team doctor. But the FBI has not opened a formal investigation and has not notified the state of Michigan or the federal government, according to a report by the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, the internal watchdog. The ReportPublished in 2021, it noted that the Federal Agency had erroneously surveyed witnesses and failed to share credible information about the violence with the relevant authorities. The Inspector General said that after reports of violence, from July 2015 to August 2016, when Nassar was arrested, at least 70 athletes were sexually assaulted by a doctor.
However, two weeks ago the Ministry of Justice Said he would not file a criminal complaint Against former officers who were accused of giving inaccurate or incomplete answers during the Inspector General’s investigation.
“As soon as the FBI did its job, Nassar was arrested before he had a chance to insult hundreds of girls, including me,” said former gymnast Samantha Roy in a statement from the NYT.
Now, the plaintiffs are seeking various sums of money to compensate the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In total, the claims will exceed $ 1 billion, as evidenced by his attorney, John S. Manley.
In December last year, hundreds of American gymnasts who suffered violence from Nassar reached a $ 380 million legal agreement with the federation and the U.S. Olympic Committee. It took three years to reach an agreement, a period when some of the most prominent gymnasts openly criticized the federation and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee in interviews, on social media, and even in front of the country’s Senate.
“I blame Larry Nasar and I also blame the whole system for allowing and committing this insult. “The Gymnastics Federation and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committees knew he was being abused by the team’s official doctor,” Byles told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee months ago.
Source: El Diario
