Gymnastics: The US government will pay an impressive amount to the victims of sexual assaults committed by Larry Nassar

The Larry Nassar case, which caused an international scandal, continues to shake the world of gymnastics: the American government announced on Tuesday that it will pay almost 139 million dollars to the victims sexually assaulted by this former doctor of the national team, reports AFP.

Larry Nassar, sentenced to life in prison

Nassar is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2017 and 2018 of two decades of sexually abusing more than 250 gymnasts, many of them minors.

Among his many victims is the Olympic champion Simone Biles, who, along with a hundred other gymnasts, sued the American administration, accusing the FBI of negligence.

Initial charges against the man were forwarded to the local FBI office in Indianapolis (North) in July 2015. But the investigation was quickly dropped and it took another report in May 2016 for the feds to launch new investigations.

“The other victims and I were betrayed by all the institutions that were supposed to protect us,” former Olympic champion McKayla Maroney said in 2022, pointing the finger not only at the FBI, but also at the US federation, the Olympic Committee and the Department of Justice .

The US government will pay $138.7 million to the plaintiffs

Under the terms of the settlement announced Tuesday, the government will pay $138.7 million to the plaintiffs.

“These allegations should have been taken seriously from the beginning,” admitted Benjamin Mizer, a deputy at the Justice Department.

“While these settlements will not erase the harm Mr. Nassar has caused, we hope they will help the victims of his crimes get the essential support they need to continue their healing.”

The history of the scandal that rocked the US gymnastics world

In July 2021, a report by the Ministry of Justice’s General Inspectorate concluded that there had been “fundamental errors” by the officers in charge of the initial investigation.

A former specialist in osteopathy and therapy, Larry Nassar was the national medical coordinator of the American Gymnastics Federation between 1996 and 2014.

He also practiced at Michigan State University and in a gymnastics club, where he had numerous victims. After his conviction, he was stabbed in prison in July 2023, an attack he survived.

His name remains associated with the biggest sexual assault scandal in the history of gymnastics, which completely rocked the sport.

In the United States, the various financial compensations paid to the victims of the former doctor amount to more than one billion dollars, of which 500 million by Michigan State University and 380 million by the gymnastics federation.

Since this unprecedented case, gymnasts around the world have spoken out against abusive practices, exposing a toxic culture within their sport.

In Britain, Australia, Canada and France there has been an avalanche of revelations in recent years, exposing decades of physical and psychological violence.

This led the International Gymnastics Federation to adopt a new code of conduct in June 2022 to protect gymnasts from abusive practices, informs News.ro.