US agrees to $138 million settlement with Larry Nassar assault victims
By Ed White
DETROIT — The U.S. Justice Department announced a $138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
When combined with other settlements, $1 billion now has been set aside by various organizations to compensate hundreds of women who said Nassar assaulted them under the guise of treatment for sports injuries.
FILE – In this Nov. 22, 2017 file photo, Dr. Larry Nassar appears in court for a plea hearing in Lansing, Mich. Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times during an altercation with another incarcerated person at a federal prison in Florida. Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press the attack happened Sunday at United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida. The people said he was in stable condition Monday. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Larry Nassar, a former doctor for USA Gymnastics and member of Michigan State’s sports medicine staff, sits in court during his sentencing hearing in Lansing, Mich. Survivors of Nassar’s abuse reached a settlement agreement with USA Gymnastics and the USOPC for more than $400 million. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
United States Olympic gymnast Simone Biles testifies during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington. Nassar was charged in 2016 with federal child pornography offenses and sexual abuse charges in Michigan. He is now serving decades in prison after hundreds of girls and women said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State and Indiana-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
United States Olympic gymnast Simone Biles is sworn in during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington. Nassar was charged in 2016 with federal child pornography offenses and sexual abuse charges in Michigan. He is now serving decades in prison after hundreds of girls and women said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State and Indiana-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
United States gymnasts from left, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols, leave after testifying at a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., hugs United States gymnast Aly Raisman, after a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington. United States gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, and Jessica Howard look on. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
United States Olympic gymnast Simone Biles testifies during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington. Nassar was charged in 2016 with federal child pornography offenses and sexual abuse charges in Michigan. He is now serving decades in prison after hundreds of girls and women said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State and Indiana-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
United States gymnasts from left, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols, arrive to testify during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General’s report on the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Washington. Nassar was charged in 2016 with federal child pornography offenses and sexual abuse charges in Michigan. He is now serving decades in prison after hundreds of girls and women said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment when he worked for Michigan State and Indiana-based USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pictured in 2018, has called for a hearing into the FBI’s handling of the Larry Nassar investigation. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, pictured in May, has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking for the release of the inspector general’s report on the FBI investigation of Larry Nassar. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
Alexandra Bourque was among the victims of Larry Nassar who was offered 2,500 in a settlement proposal by USA Gymnastics. (Contributed photo)
FILE – In this Feb. 17, 2017, file photo, Dr. Larry Nassar listens to testimony of a witness during a preliminary hearing, in Lansing, Mich. Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman says she is among the young women abused by a former USA Gymnastics team doctor. Raisman tells “60 Minutes” she was 15 when she was first treated by Dr. Larry Nassar, who spent more than two decades working with athletes at USA Gymnastics. He’s now is in jail in Michigan awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
(Robert Killips /Lansing State Journal via AP, File)
Former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar arrives for impact statements during the sentencing phase in Ingham County Circuit Court on January 24, 2018 in Lansing, Michigan.
More than 100 women and girls accuse Nassar of a pattern of serial abuse dating back two decades. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 24: Sexual abuse survivor from the Larry Nassar sexual abuse case Aly Raisman listens during a hearing before the Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security Subcommittee of Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee July 24, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The hearing was to focus on changes made by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Gymnastics (USAG), and Michigan State University (MSU) to protect Olympic and amateur athletes from abuse. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Gymnasts Jordyn Wieber and Jamie Dantzscher ask congress on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 in Beverly Hills to investigate the United States Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics after an investigation found the organizations allegedly attempted to cover-up the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. They also want Mayor Garcetti and LA 2028 to cut ties with the USOC. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Gymnasts Jordyn Wieber and Jamie Dantzscher ask congress on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 in Beverly Hills to investigate the United States Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics after an investigation found the organizations allegedly attempted to cover-up the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. They also want Mayor Garcetti and LA 2028 to cut ties with the USOC. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Gymnasts, from left, Rachael Denhollander and Jeanette Antolin ask congress on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 in Beverly Hills to investigate the United States Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics after an investigation found the organizations allegedly attempted to cover-up the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. They also want Mayor Garcetti and LA 2028 to cut ties with the USOC. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
In this Nov. 22, 2017 file photo, Dr. Larry Nassar, 54, appears in court for a plea hearing in Lansing, Mich. Michigan State University announced Wednesday, May 16, 2018, that it has reached a $500 million settlement with hundreds of women and girls who say they were sexually assaulted by sports Nassar in the worst sex-abuse case in sports history. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Wieber gives her victim impact statement in Lansing, Mich., during the fourth day of sentencing for former sports doctor Larry Nassar. (Dale G. Young/Detroit News via AP, File)
Michigan State agreed to a $500 million settlement with more than 300 victims of sports doctor Larry Nassar in the worst sex-abuse case in sports history. (Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)
Eaton County Sheriff’s deputies restrain Randall Margraves, father of three victims of Larry Nassar, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, in Eaton County Circuit Court in Charlotte, Mich. The incident came during the third and final sentencing hearing for Nassar on sexual abuse charges. The charges in this case focus on his work with Twistars, an elite Michigan gymnastics club. (Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)
Eaton County Sheriff’s deputies restrain Randall Margraves, father of three victims of Larry Nassar, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, in Eaton County Circuit Court in Charlotte, Mich. The incident came during the third and final sentencing hearing for Nassar on sexual abuse charges. The charges in this case focus on his work with Twistars, an elite Michigan gymnastics club. (Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)
Dale G.Young/Detroit News via AP
Larry Nassar looks at the gallery in the court during the sixth day of his sentencing hearing Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, in Lansing, Mich. Nassar has admitted sexually assaulting athletes when he was employed by Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, which is the sport’s national governing organization and trains Olympians. (Dale G.Young/Detroit News via AP)
McKayla Maroney, seen four years ago at a competition in Belgium, posted an essay late Tuesday night about how she was sexually abused by Dr. Larry Nassar while competing for USA Gymnastics. (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer said Nassar betrayed the trust of those in his care for decades, and that the “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 said of the agreement to settle 139 claims.
The Justice Department has acknowledged that it failed to step in. For more than a year, FBI agents in Indianapolis and Los Angeles had knowledge of allegations against him but apparently took no action, an internal investigation found.
FBI Director Christopher Wray was contrite — and very blunt — when he spoke to survivors at a Senate hearing in 2021. The assault survivors include decorated Olympians Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.
“I’m sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again,” Wray said. “And 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.”
After a search, investigators said in 2016 that they had found images of child sex abuse and followed up with federal charges against Nassar. Separately, the Michigan attorney general’s office handled the assault charges that ultimately shocked the sports world and led to an extraordinary dayslong sentencing hearing with gripping testimony about his crimes.
“I’m deeply grateful. Accountability with the Justice Department has been a long time in coming,” said Rachael Denhollander of Louisville, Kentucky, who is not part of the latest settlement but was the first person to publicly step forward and detail abuse at the hands of Nassar.
“The unfortunate reality is that what we are seeing today is something that most survivors never see,” Denhollander told The Associated Press. “Most survivors never see accountability. Most survivors never see justice. Most survivors never get restitution.”
Michigan State University, which was also accused of missing chances over many years to stop Nassar, agreed to pay $500 million to more than 300 women and girls who were assaulted. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee made a $380 million settlement.
Mick Grewal, an attorney who represented 44 people in claims against the government, said the $1 billion in overall settlements speaks to “the travesty that occurred.”
Associated Press reporters Mike Householder in Detroit; Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, D.C., contributed to this story.
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