Larry Nassar's victims reach $138.7 million settlement over botched FBI probe
A quick recap on the criminal charges and sentencing:
In 2016, former gymnast Rachel Denhollander filed a report with Michigan State University police accusing Dr. Larry Nassar of sexually abusing her in 2000 when she was 15 years old. Although multiple athletes had reported Nassar abusing them (some as early as the 90s) during his decades long tenure at positions he held at MSU, Holt High School, gymnastics training center Twistars Gymnastics, and as the USA Gymnastics team doctor, Denhollander was the first to file a lawsuit. After news of her lawsuit broke, more victims came forward. By the time his three trials ended in 2018, over 265 of his patients had accused him of sexual abuse.
In July 2017, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of receiving child pornography in 2004, possession of pornographic images of children dating from 2004 to 2016, and tampering with evidence by destroying and concealing the images. U.S. District Judge Janet Neff sentenced him to 60 years in prison.
In November 2017, in Ingham County he pleaded guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with minors under the age of 16 (three of the girls were under the age of 13) and three additional counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. In January 2018, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina allowed 156 women to read victim impact statements to the court (Nassar had the nerve to write a letter to the judge saying that listening to these victim impact statements day after day was bad for his mental health). She then sentenced him to 40-175 years in prison.
In November 2017, he also pleaded guilty to three counts of first degree criminal sexual assault in Eaton County. These charges were related to abuse that took place at Twistars. In February 2018, an additional 65 women read victim impact statements before Judge Janice Cunningham sentenced Nassar to 40-125 years.
Judge Janet T. Neff ordered any sentences imposed at the state level to run consecutively with his federal sentence. His scheduled release date is January 30, 2068. He will be 104 years old.
background on today's news
Multiple victims have said that although they reported Nassar's abuse to different agencies (MSU, local police, USA Gymnastics, US Olympic Committee, etc) as early as the 1990s, nothing ever came of the their complaints and he was allowed to continue treating young female patients. In some cases, the victims were told that the investigation had yielded nothing. In other cases, the authorities at the organizations persuaded the victims not to report the abuse to the police. The victims and their parents were often told that these girls were too young/inexperienced/stupid to understand that they were receiving a legitimate medical treatment. Officials at USAG did not report Nassar's abuse to the FBI until 2015.
After Nassar pleaded guilty, many of the victims filed lawsuits against the various agencies that had stymied their efforts to report Nassar's abuse. In 2018, Michigan State reached a settlement with 332 abuse victims, agreeing to pay $500 million.
In 2020, USAG & USOC offered a $215 million settlement but with the condition that there would be no further investigation into their cover up of Nassar's abuse. The proposed settlement also released all USAG officials from any liability and did not include guidelines for naming who at USAG knew about Nassar's abuse. Simone Biles and Aly Raisman publicly spoke out against the terms of the settlement. In 2021, USAG & USOC offered a $380 settlement to Nassar's victims. By then, there were over 500 gymnasts who had come forward as victims. Over 90% of them voted to accept the new settlement.
In 2021, a report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz criticized Indianapolis-based FBI agents for the way they handled the investigation into Nassar's abuse, saying officials at that field office "did not take responsibility for their failures" and instead "provided incomplete and inaccurate information to make it appear that they had been diligent in responding to the sexual abuse allegations." It noted that FBI agents in Indianapolis made “fundamental errors” by failing to notify other FBI offices or state or local authorities about Nassar.
Attorneys Megan Bonanni and Michael Pitt, who represent 77 of the 139 athletes who filed claims against the FBI, said, "The FBI fundamentally failed to protect hundreds of women and girls from sexual abuse through inaction and total mishandling of their Larry Nassar investigation."
After two years of negotiations, the Justice Department has agreed to a $137.8 million settlement for the 139 victims who filed lawsuits against the FBI.
source
In 2016, former gymnast Rachel Denhollander filed a report with Michigan State University police accusing Dr. Larry Nassar of sexually abusing her in 2000 when she was 15 years old. Although multiple athletes had reported Nassar abusing them (some as early as the 90s) during his decades long tenure at positions he held at MSU, Holt High School, gymnastics training center Twistars Gymnastics, and as the USA Gymnastics team doctor, Denhollander was the first to file a lawsuit. After news of her lawsuit broke, more victims came forward. By the time his three trials ended in 2018, over 265 of his patients had accused him of sexual abuse.
In July 2017, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of receiving child pornography in 2004, possession of pornographic images of children dating from 2004 to 2016, and tampering with evidence by destroying and concealing the images. U.S. District Judge Janet Neff sentenced him to 60 years in prison.
In November 2017, in Ingham County he pleaded guilty to seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with minors under the age of 16 (three of the girls were under the age of 13) and three additional counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. In January 2018, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina allowed 156 women to read victim impact statements to the court (Nassar had the nerve to write a letter to the judge saying that listening to these victim impact statements day after day was bad for his mental health). She then sentenced him to 40-175 years in prison.
In November 2017, he also pleaded guilty to three counts of first degree criminal sexual assault in Eaton County. These charges were related to abuse that took place at Twistars. In February 2018, an additional 65 women read victim impact statements before Judge Janice Cunningham sentenced Nassar to 40-125 years.
Judge Janet T. Neff ordered any sentences imposed at the state level to run consecutively with his federal sentence. His scheduled release date is January 30, 2068. He will be 104 years old.
background on today's news
Multiple victims have said that although they reported Nassar's abuse to different agencies (MSU, local police, USA Gymnastics, US Olympic Committee, etc) as early as the 1990s, nothing ever came of the their complaints and he was allowed to continue treating young female patients. In some cases, the victims were told that the investigation had yielded nothing. In other cases, the authorities at the organizations persuaded the victims not to report the abuse to the police. The victims and their parents were often told that these girls were too young/inexperienced/stupid to understand that they were receiving a legitimate medical treatment. Officials at USAG did not report Nassar's abuse to the FBI until 2015.
After Nassar pleaded guilty, many of the victims filed lawsuits against the various agencies that had stymied their efforts to report Nassar's abuse. In 2018, Michigan State reached a settlement with 332 abuse victims, agreeing to pay $500 million.
In 2020, USAG & USOC offered a $215 million settlement but with the condition that there would be no further investigation into their cover up of Nassar's abuse. The proposed settlement also released all USAG officials from any liability and did not include guidelines for naming who at USAG knew about Nassar's abuse. Simone Biles and Aly Raisman publicly spoke out against the terms of the settlement. In 2021, USAG & USOC offered a $380 settlement to Nassar's victims. By then, there were over 500 gymnasts who had come forward as victims. Over 90% of them voted to accept the new settlement.
In 2021, a report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz criticized Indianapolis-based FBI agents for the way they handled the investigation into Nassar's abuse, saying officials at that field office "did not take responsibility for their failures" and instead "provided incomplete and inaccurate information to make it appear that they had been diligent in responding to the sexual abuse allegations." It noted that FBI agents in Indianapolis made “fundamental errors” by failing to notify other FBI offices or state or local authorities about Nassar.
Attorneys Megan Bonanni and Michael Pitt, who represent 77 of the 139 athletes who filed claims against the FBI, said, "The FBI fundamentally failed to protect hundreds of women and girls from sexual abuse through inaction and total mishandling of their Larry Nassar investigation."
After two years of negotiations, the Justice Department has agreed to a $137.8 million settlement for the 139 victims who filed lawsuits against the FBI.
source