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Former Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, are part of a group of nearly 90 women bringing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the FBI, claiming that their failure to properly investigate complaints against Dr. Larry Nassar resulted in the continued sexual abuse of women and girls under his care.
Nassar, a former doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, is spending the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of abusing dozens of female athletes under the guise of medical treatment. The FBI received reports in 2015 that Nassar abused at multiple gymnasts, but a Justice Department Inspector General report found that they did not open an investigation at that time.
“My fellow survivors and I were betrayed by every institution that was supposed to protect us – the US Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, the FBI and now the Department of Justice,” Maroney said in a statement. “I had some hope that they would keep their word and hold the FBI accountable after we poured out our hearts to the US Senate Judiciary Committee and begged for justice. It is clear that the only path to justice and healing is through the legal process.”
FBI Director Chris Wray apologized for the FBI’s failures at a Senate hearing.
“I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed. And that’s inexcusable,” Wray said. Wray was not director at the time the FBI received its information.
