Simone Biles, Other Gymnasts Assert $1 Billion Claims Against FBI – Opinion

On Wednesday, lawyers for Simone Biles and other gymnasts announced they were asserting claims against the FBI over the agency’s botched handling of the Larry Nassar case. Nassar was sentenced in 2018 and 2017 to over 100 years prison for multiple federal and state criminal charges.

According to the AP

DETROIT (AP) — Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and dozens of other women who say they were sexually assaulted by Larry Nassar are seeking more than $1 billion from the FBI for failing to stop the sports doctor when the agency first received allegations against him, lawyers said Wednesday.

There’s no dispute that FBI agents in 2015 knew that the now-imprisoned Nassar was accused of assaulting gymnasts, but they failed to act, leaving him free to continue to target young women and girls for more than a year. He was sentenced to decades of imprisonment after pleading guilty to the charges in 2017.

“It is time for the FBI to be held accountable,” said Maggie Nichols, a national champion gymnast at Oklahoma in 2017-19.

Federal law gives a government agency six months from Wednesday to reply to tort claims. Lawsuits could follow, depending on the FBI’s response.

Federal Tort Claims Act is the statute under which the claims will be filed. It allows individuals to file claims against the federal government. It’s an administrative procedure that provides a limited waiver to the general rule of sovereign immunity, which generally insulates the government from civil liability. Before a lawsuit can proceed, these administrative claims need to be filed. As noted above, the agency has six months to respond to the claims, and that will then determine the claimants’ next steps.

In 2015, several gymnasts reported that Nassar had assaulted them. The FBI was alerted. Nassar didn’t get arrested until 2016 though. Multiple young women were also assaulted during that time.

“The FBI knew that Larry Nassar was a danger to children when his abuse of me was first reported in September of 2015,” gymnast Maggie Nichols, a Team USA member and NCAA National Champion, said in a statement. “For 421 days they worked with USA Gymnastics and USOPC to hide this information from the public and allowed Nassar to continue molesting young women and girls. It is time for the FBI to be held accountable.”

Christopher Wray, FBI Director testified before Congress 2021. ABC reports:

At a September Congressional hearing FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed outrage and sadness for the victims of Nassar’s abuse and FBI inaction.

A Department of Justice inspector general’s report found the FBI was notified of Nassar’s behavior, but failed to act for more than a year.

“I’m sorry for what you and your families have been through,” Wray told the Senate judiciary committee. “I’m sorry that so many different people let you down, over and over again. And I’m especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in in 2015 and failed.”

Wray said the allegations happened before he was director, but is doing everything in his power to make sure it doesn’t happen again.