Gymnasts and other victims of Larry Nassar, the former physician of the US gymnastics team, are asking the FBI and the Department of Justice for a billion dollars to handle the sexual harassment allegations.
Among the gymnasts included in the request are also Simone Byles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.
Gymnasts and other Nassar victims accuse the FBI of initially underestimating the allegations, first presented to the agency in 2015.
US gymnastics champions Simone Biles, Mckayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman testified before the Senate Justice Committee on the FBI's negligence in the investigation into sexual abuse allegations against former national team doctor Larry Nassar.
All four said they were victims of Nassar, sentenced in 2018 to a sentence ranging from 40 to 175 years in prison for sexual abuse of more than 150 gymnasts.
The hearing examined how the FBI handled the investigation into the allegations, which were first submitted to the agency in 2015. Bureau director Christopher Wray and the department inspector general also testified. of Justice, Michael Horowitz.
In a July report, Horowitz said several protocol violations led to months of delay and that while the investigation stalled, the former doctor abused dozens of victims.
The FBI officials "did not respond to the accusations with the seriousness and urgency they deserved and required - the dossier reads - They committed numerous errors and violated multiple Bureau rules".
"They allowed a child molester to remain free for more than a year and this inaction allowed Nassar to continue with his abuse," Maroney said in the Senate. "What's the point of reporting abuse if FBI agents bury that report in a drawer? ".
"It really looks like the FBI has turned a blind eye to us," Biles pointed out instead: "The message must be sent that if you allow a predator to harm minors, the consequences will be swift and severe."
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