The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay about $100 million to settle claims from 100 people who say they were victimized by disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. Sexual assault by Larry Nassar. The deal has not been finalized and no payment has been made, sources said.
An internal investigation found that FBI agents mishandled abuse allegations against women more than a year before Nassar was arrested in 2016.
The settlement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
Nassar is a sports physician at MSU and a physician for USA Gymnastics in Indianapolis. He is serving a life sentence for assaulting athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts, under the guise of treatment.
The attorneys’ claims against the government focus on a 15-month period beginning in 2015 when FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles were aware of the allegations against Nassar but apparently took no action. A fundamental error was proven.
Nassar’s attacks continued until his arrest in the fall of 2016, authorities said.
Survivors of the attack include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.
“I’m sorry that so many different people have let you down over and over again,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told survivors at a 2021 Senate hearing. “I’m especially sorry that the FBI’s Some people had a chance to stop this monster back in 2015, but failed.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office eventually settled assault charges against Nassar, while federal prosecutors in western Michigan filed a child sex abuse images case against him.
Michigan State University, which has also been accused of missing opportunities to stop Nassar over the years, agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who were sexually assaulted. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee agreed to a $380 million settlement.
