DOJ settles with Larry Nassar victims for $138.7M over FBI's mishandling of sex assault allegations

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The Justice Department agreed on Tuesday to pay $138.7 million to settle 139 claims of those who accused the FBI of mishandling sexual assault allegations against disgraced former sports doctor Larry Nasar in 2015 and 2016.

Nassar worked at Michigan State University and was the team doctor at USA Gymnastics in Indianapolis. Several current and former athletes, including Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols, all testified at a 2021 Senate hearing that the FBI failed to act on their complaints against him.

Nassar is now serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes under the guise of treatment for injuries.

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U.S. gymnasts McKayla Maroney (C), Simone Biles and Aly Raisman leave after testifying during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI handling of the Larry Nassar investigation of sexual abuse of U.S. gymnasts, on Capitol Hill, September 15, 2021, in Washington, DC.  (Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images)

"For decades, Lawrence Nassar abused his position, betraying the trust of those under his care and medical supervision while skirting accountability," Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said in a statement. "These allegations should have been taken seriously from the outset. While these settlements won’t undo the harm Nassar inflicted, our hope is that they will help give the victims of his crimes some of the critical support they need to continue healing."

The settlement figure exceeds that of what the Justice Department paid in a settlement in cases that arose out of the 2018 Parkland, Florida