More than 90 women filed lawsuits on Wednesday against the FBI, accusing former agents at the agency of botching the sex abuse investigation into onetime USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, one of the law firms handling the case said.
Olympic gymnastics gold medalists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney were among the women who filed federal tort claims against the agency, seeking a total of more than $1 billion, the California law firm of Manly, Stewart and Finaldi said in a statement.
"It is time for the FBI to be held accountable," said Team USA and NCAA National Champion gymnast Maggie Nichols.
FBI officials were not immediately available for comment.
Federal tort claims law allows individuals who were injured due to negligence or a wrongful act or omission by the federal government to be compensated.
The women accuse the FBI of mishandling credible complaints from numerous sources and failing to act on corroborating evidence the agency received in July 2015. They say the FBI's inaction allowed Nassar to continue molesting young women and girls up until the time he was charged in 2016.
The filings come two weeks after the U.S. Justice Department said it will stand by its prior decision not to file criminal charges against former FBI agents accused of botching the investigation.
In April, 13 unnamed sexual abuse survivors of Nassar submitted administrative tort claims against the FBI, seeking a total of $130 million from the FBI over similar allegations.
Nassar, who is also a former employee of Michigan State University, was sentenced in 2018 to up to 175 years in prison for abusing young female gymnasts entrusted to his care.
In September 2021, high profile Olympic gymnasts including Biles and Maroney gave heart-wrenching testimony before a U.S. Senate panel about the sexual abuse they endured for years under Nassar's care.
At that hearing, the gymnasts blasted the FBI for its mishandling of the investigation, with Biles accusing the bureau of turning a blind eye to all of Nassar's victims.
"We wouldn't have to be here if the FBI had taken responsibility for their failures," former gymnast and whistleblower Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to accuse Nassar publicly of sexual abuse, told Reuters.
"Because they did not choose to do that, the only mechanism for forcing any kind of restoration of accountability, reform and change is our civil justice system.
"And what that ultimately means is that the burden falls again on survivors for pushing for that reform."
Denhollander said she was not among those who filed lawsuits Wednesday because her abuse predated 2015 but that she applauded the women who did.
"I'm incredibly proud of these women for taking that step," she added.
A July 2021 report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz uncovered widespread and dire errors by the FBI that allowed Nassar to continue to abuse at least 70 more victims before he was finally arrested.
Two former FBI agents were singled out in the report - the former Indianapolis field office Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott and a former supervisory special agent who has since been identified as Michael Langeman.
Horowitz said the agents waited five weeks before conducting a phone interview with just one victim - Maroney - while failing to contact other victims.
Langeman did not properly document Maroney's interview until more than a year later, and when he did, it contained misstatements and omissions, the report found.
Horowitz also said Abbott violated ethics rules by trying to get a job with the U.S. Olympic Committee in the midst of the investigation, and later lied during his interview with the inspector general's office.
Abbott retired from the bureau in 2018, while Langeman was fired last fall.
Reuters
Thu Jun 09 2022
Nassar, who is also a former employee of Michigan State University, was sentenced in 2018 to up to 175 years in prison for abusing young female gymnasts entrusted to his care. - REUTERS/Filepic
Belanjawan 2025: Kesalinghubungan internet di sekolah, kampus jadi keutamaan - Fahmi
Fahmi berkata ia termasuk isu Internet di kawasan terpencil, pedalaman dan pulau-pulau dalam memastikan akses Internet berkelajuan tinggi lebih meluas.
Pelajar tahfiz perlu teroka bidang teknologi
Kira-kira 200,000 pelajar tahfiz di negara ini, perlu dipastikan untuk mempunyai kemampuan dan peluang menjadi tenaga penggerak kepada umat Islam Malaysia dalam meneroka bidang yang dahulu dilihat sebagai asing., tegas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Perpaduan rakyat prasyarat ekonomi mampan
Tidak semua negara Islam mempunyai ruang dan kesempatan untuk terus aman dan damai, dan mempunyai peluang untuk menikmati ekonomi yang kukuh dan berkembang seperti Malaysia, tegas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Beliau berkata, rakyat Malaysia perlu mempunyai tekad untuk memahami maksud dan keperluan perpaduan di kalangan mereka, serta kekuatan dalaman yang seterusnya dapat dijadikan tonggak untuk negara membuat langkah seterusnya.
Beliau berkata, rakyat Malaysia perlu mempunyai tekad untuk memahami maksud dan keperluan perpaduan di kalangan mereka, serta kekuatan dalaman yang seterusnya dapat dijadikan tonggak untuk negara membuat langkah seterusnya.
Tidak perlu tergesa-gesa tukar ke lesen B - JPJ
Pemegang Lesen Memandu Malaysia (LMM) Kelas B2 dan B1 tidak perlu tergesa-gesa mendaftar Program Khas Peralihan LLM Kelas B2/B1 Kepada LMM Kelas B kerana tiada had masa ditetapkan untuk permohonan.
KPWKM teruskan lapan inisiatif bantu warga emas
Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat (KPWKM) akan terus menggerakkan lapan inisiatif utama dalam memenuhi keperluan jagaan dan sistem sokongan terhadap warga emas.
Warga emas maut ditikam anak kandung yang berhalusinasi
Seorang pesara guru maut ditikam anak kandungnya sendiri di sebuah rumah dekat Kampung Senaling, di sini, petang Sabtu.
Menurut Ketua Polis Daerah Kuala Pilah, Superintendan Amran Mohd Ghani, siasatan awal mendapati warga emas berusia 65 tahun itu cuba memujuk anak lelakinya yang juga pemegang kad orang kurang upaya (OKU) mental yang dikatakan mahu membunuh diri.
Menurut Ketua Polis Daerah Kuala Pilah, Superintendan Amran Mohd Ghani, siasatan awal mendapati warga emas berusia 65 tahun itu cuba memujuk anak lelakinya yang juga pemegang kad orang kurang upaya (OKU) mental yang dikatakan mahu membunuh diri.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Sabtu, 5 Oktober 2024.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Hezbollah lancar serangan peluru berpandu ke atas kompleks industri ketenteraan di utara Israel
Pergerakan Hezbollah di Lubnan berkata mereka telah melancarkan serangan peluru berpandu ke atas kemudahan ATA Defence Industries.
Tiada kaitan dengan pelantikan CEO MDEC, Anuar Fariz bukan adik saya - Fahmi
Menteri Komunikasi Fahmi Fadzil menyangkal dakwaan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) baharu Perbadanan Ekonomi Digital Malaysia (MDEC) Anuar Fariz Fadzil merupakan adiknya.
Kes cabul atlet wanita: Larry Nassar dihukum penjara 125 tahun lagi
Kes terbaharu itu menjadikan jumlah wanita yang mendakwa telah dicabul Nassar telah mencecah lebih 265 orang sepanjang tiga dekad khidmatnya sebagai doktor pasukan gimnastik.
Komuniti Michigan mohon maaf, menyesal tidak percaya aduan mangsa rogol
Permohonan maaf itu dibuat dalam satu majlis terbuka mewakili penduduk serta pihak berkuasa kepada mangsa-mangsa cabul Nassar.
U.S. Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles says doctor sexually abused her
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles said on Monday she was sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar.