Abuse scandal involving former US gymnastics doctor: Nassar victims demand $130 million in compensation from the FBI

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Former US team doctor Larry Nassar (pictured January 2018), now convicted, sexually abused hundreds of gymnasts

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Dale G. Young/ dpa

In the abuse scandal surrounding the convicted former US gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, 13 victims are demanding compensation from the FBI for allegations of serious investigative failures.

It's about 130 million US dollars - ten million dollars for each victim, said the lawyer for those affected, Jamie White, at the request of the dpa news agency.

The investigative authority, which is subordinate to the Justice Department, now has six months to respond to the request before it could possibly lead to a lawsuit, the lawyer said.

He could not name the 13 people at this time.

His law firm is based in Okemos, Michigan.

The former gymnastics doctor Nassar had been sentenced to prison terms of up to 175 years since the summer of 2017 in a total of three judgments for his criminal assaults, including against minors.

He pleaded guilty to sexually abusing several girls.

In total, hundreds of gymnasts and their parents had sued him, including Olympic champions Simone Biles, Alexandra Raisman and McKayla Maroney.

At the end of 2021, a court in Indianapolis awarded Nassar's victims $380 million in compensation after a multi-year legal battle between the US Gymnastics Federation and the National Olympic and Paralympic Committees on the one hand and the victims on the other.

According to the US media, the sum covered claims from "hundreds of women".

Efforts are now being made to hold the government accountable as well.

Biles is not among the 13 women

Biles, Raisman and Maroney made serious allegations against the FBI and the sports associations involved at a hearing in the US Congress in September 2021.

Among other things, they complained that the FBI had not followed up on their tips for a long time and was thus partly to blame for Nassar being able to abuse many other girls.

White clarified that Biles, Raisman and Maroney are not among the 13 women he represents.

A July 2021 report by the Office of the Inspector General at the US Department of Justice also concluded that the FBI mishandled allegations of Nassar's sexual abuse, allowing him months for further action.

FBI officials have not responded with the "seriousness and urgency" required to allegations of this nature, it said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said he "deeply regretted" the delay in prosecuting Nassar and the suffering it caused.

The FBI initially did not respond to an inquiry from the AP news agency about the current demands.

ngo/dpa/AP