Serial Molester and former USA Gymnastics Doctor Larry Nassar’s case was negligently handled by the FBI, 13 survivors claim
Larry Nassar served as the USA Gymnastics team doctor for 20 years, during which time he sexually molested over 150 young women. In 2018, Nassar was sentenced to over 100 years in prison.
However, in 2021 the Justice Department issued a report which criticized the FBI for their gross mishandling of the investigation into Nassar’s perverted and disgusting behavior.
From American Greatness:
The federal investigation found that two agents in Indianapolis committed “fundamental errors” for failing to respond to allegations of sexual abuse “with the urgency that the allegations required.” The report also concluded that Jay Abbott, the former head of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, made false statements to investigators and “violated FBI policy and exercised extremely poor judgment under federal ethics rules.”
Normally, federal law protects officers and agents from personal lawsuits. However, an Indiana University Law professor claims that “the agents’ actions — particularly their false statements to the Office of Inspector General — eroded that shield.”
The first step would be a tort claim, which may be able to be escalated into a lawsuit.
The FBI did not only mishandle the situation by untimely documentation of reports–17 months late, in one case–but also by fabricating claims about the survivors’ testimony.
The attorneys of the 13 women filed tort claims on Wednesday, citing “significant and irreparable personal injuries” on behalf of the survivors due to the FBI’s failure to act upon first being alerted to the situation, seeking $130 million in damages.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified last September that federal investigators had made “totally unacceptable” errors, and that Abbott had been fired.
“When I received the inspector general’s report and saw that the supervisory special agent in Indianapolis had failed to carry out even the most basic parts of the job, I immediately made sure he was no longer performing the functions of a special agent,” Wray said. “And I can now tell you that individual no longer works for the FBI in any capacity.”
Wray said the FBI agents “betrayed the core duty that they have of protecting people” and “failed to protect young women and girls from abuse.”
However, Biden’s Justice Department has not brought charges against the agents. Proving once again, that when it comes to protecting Americans, Biden’s Administration falls short.
