The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a $138.7 million settlement with the more than 100 assault survivors of disgraced Olympic Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar over allegations the department failed to investigate sexual assault accusations against him.
The settlement, announced Tuesday by the DOJ, resolves the 139 administrative claims against the FBI alleging the agency inadequately probed Nassar’s sexual abuse spanning nearly two decades.
The agreement marks the end to the final major legal case related to the former doctor, who is serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes — including Olympic gymnasts, under the guise of performing medical treatments. Nassar, 60, previously worked at Michigan State University and was a team doctor at USA Gymnastics, based in Indianapolis.
“For decades, Lawrence Nassar abused his position, betraying the trust of those under his care and medical supervision while skirting accountability,” Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer in a statement Tuesday. “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,” Mizer added.
The FBI previously acknowledged its mishandling of the 2015 and 2016 investigation into Nassar, a year that allowed the doctor to continue targeting victims before his 2016 arrest.
