Wednesday September 15, 2021
“Protected serial abusers”
US gymnastics stars sharply accuse the FBI
US gymnastics is rocked by a massive abuse scandal. Even if someone responsible has long been sentenced to more than a hundred years in prison, the processing of the complex is still in full swing. It becomes uncomfortable for federal agencies.
In the abuse scandal surrounding former US gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who has now been convicted, Olympic champions Simone Biles, Alexandra Raisman and McKayla Maroney raised serious allegations against the FBI and others before the Senate. At a hearing in the Justice Committee of the Congress Chamber, the gymnasts vividly described their experiences. They complained that the US federal police and those responsible for the responsible sports associations had not followed up their reports of abuse for a long time and were so partly to blame that Nassar was able to abuse many other girls.
Maroney said how she told the FBI in painful detail over the phone in the summer of 2015 what Nassar had done to her. The FBI officer downplayed their experiences and said, “Is that all?” The Federal Police initially did not report their statement for a long time and only documented it after 17 months, but presented their descriptions “completely wrong”. “You chose to lie about what I said and protect a serial abuser instead of protecting not just me but countless others.” By inaction, the FBI allowed Nassar to move around freely for more than a year and to continue his abuse. The FBI officers involved had committed a crime, she complained.
“Whole system” made abuse possible
The gymnasts also complained about serious failures by the sports associations involved. Biles said “a whole system” enabled Nassar’s abuse. Raisman said, “It was like serving innocent children to a pedophile on a silver platter.” In addition to them, gymnast Maggie Nichols testified before the committee.
Since the summer of 2017, Nassar had been sentenced to prison terms of up to 175 years for his criminal attacks, including those against minors, in a total of three sentences. He pleaded guilty to sexually abusing several girls in the trials. Hundreds of gymnasts and their parents had sued him, including Raisman, Maroney and Biles.
A report by the Inspector General’s Office at the US Department of Justice, released in mid-July, concluded that the FBI had mishandled evidence of sexual abuse by Nassar, allowing him months to continue. FBI officials did not react with the “seriousness and urgency” necessary to allegations of this kind, it said.
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