(NationalUSNews.com) — The United States Justice Department recently announced a settlement between it and the women Team USA doctor Larry Nassar victimized, which saw the victims legally entitled to $138 million. Nassar infamously worked for Team USA for decades, where he used his position as the team’s doctor to assault women who joined the gymnastics team. Nassar already stood trial for his crimes and received a prison sentence that could range from 40 to 175 years.
While the scope of Nassar’s crimes isn’t entirely known to the public, prosecutors convicted the disgraced gymnastics doctor for hundreds of instances of abuse. Shortly after his conviction, Nassar’s victims began pursuing civil action against the Justice Department for the FBI’s inadequate investigation into Nassar’s assaults against women, which took almost two years to reach the massive $138.7 million settlement. The settlement covered more than 130 claims, and each victim involved in the lawsuit will receive an equal payment.
Benjamin Mizer, an associate attorney general, announced the settlement and briefly addressed Nassar’s heinous crimes against women. Mizer said that the settlement marks the end of a lengthy legal battle for Nassar’s victims and that the United States judicial system has held Nassar accountable for his assaults. According to Mizer, Nassar used his position as a team doctor to avoid detection from law enforcement for decades. Despite Nassar’s efforts, various women made allegations against the doctor for years before his eventual conviction.
Larry Nassar’s victims first filed the lawsuit against the Justice Department in 2022 due to a report from the department, which indicated the FBI disregarded multiple allegations against Nassar. The damning report also featured information about how the FBI made a plethora of mistakes during its investigation into Nassar, including mislabeling documents and failing to report meetings between investigators and Nassar’s victims.
The report also featured proof that the FBI had knowledge about the allegations against Nassar but allowed the Team USA doctor to remain in his position for more than a year before his 2016 arrest. A large majority of Nassar’s victims involved in the lawsuit claim that Nassar victimized them after the FBI received information about Nassar’s history of assaulting women, prompting the lawsuit between Nassar’s victims and the Justice Department. The FBI responded to the lawsuit with a formal apology and the termination of an agent who participated in the Nassar investigation.
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