January 1, Nassar Victims Sue FBI for $1B

Dozens of women abused by the USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar are seeking more than $1 billion in damages from the FBI for failing to intervene when the agency first received allegations against him.

“It is time for the FBI to be held accountable,” gymnast Maggie Nichols said.

The action comes two weeks after the Justice Department declined to charge the FBI agents accused of mishandling the case.

“My fellow survivors and I were betrayed by every institution that was supposed to protect us — the U.S. Olympic Committee, U.S.A. Gymnastics, the F.B.I. and now the Department of Justice,” gymnast McKayla Maroney said in a statement. “It is clear that the only path to justice and healing is through the legal process.”

“If the FBI had simply done its job, Nassar would have been stopped before he ever had the chance to abuse hundreds of girls, including me,” said Samantha Roy, a former University of Michigan gymnast.