By Steve Neavling
More than 90 women who say they were were sexually abused by the disgraced USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar have filed lawsuits against the FBI for mishandling the investigation.
The women are seeking more than $1 billion from the bureau, The Washington Post reports.
“My fellow survivors and I were betrayed by every institution that was supposed to protect us — the U.S. Olympic Committee, U.S.A. Gymnastics, the F.B.I. and now the Department of Justice,” Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney said in a statement. “It is clear that the only path to justice and healing is through the legal process,” she added.
An inspector general report in July 2021 found that the FBI failed to properly investigate the allegations. The bureau, for example, waited five weeks to interview one of the victims and failed to notify the FBI’s Lansing office or state law enforcement.
The report also accused W. Jay Abbot, the then-special agent in charge of the Indianapolis Field Office, of lying to the inspector general during the internal investigation “to minimize errors” made by his office.
According to the report, Nassar sexually abused at least 70 young athletes between 2015 and August 2016. Nassar is effectively serving a life sentence in prison.
Last month, the Justice Department said it decided it won’t pursue charges against two FBI agents for mishandling the investigation.
