The Justice Department said on Tuesday it would pay $138.7 million to resolve 139 claims by young women, including many top female gymnasts, who were abused by the former U.S.A. Gymnastics doctor Lawrence G. Nassar.
The far-reaching settlement, which had been expected, stems from the failure of Federal Bureau of Investigation officials to promptly investigate credible claims that Mr. Nassar had sexually assaulted more than 150 women and girls under the guise of examinations and treatment.
It likely marks the end of a yearslong effort by the gymnasts — including the Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman — to achieve a measure of justice and public recognition that the institutions entrusted to protect young female athletes failed to protect them.
While lawyers for the young women hailed the settlement, they cast the government’s monetary compensation for its early reluctance to fully investigate Mr. Nassar, a once-respected physician, as a case of too little, too late.
“These women were assaulted because of the F.B.I.’s failure and there is no amount of money that will make them whole again,” said Mick Grewal, a lawyer for 44 of the claimants, including one who died by suicide. “Their goal with all this was to make sure that this never happens again.”
Mr. Grewal said he hoped the deal would “close the book on this and this will help lead them on the path to healing.”
The broad outlines of the agreement were reached late last year. The sides have spent months determining the specific payouts to women assaulted by Mr. Nassar, which vary based on their abuse claims, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Mr. Nassar is serving a 60-year sentence in federal prison in Florida, where he was stabbed multiple times by an inmate in July. He suffered a collapsed lung but survived his injuries.
Source link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/us/politics/larry-nassar-fbi-gymnasts.html