The inspector general’s investigation was spurred by allegations that the FBI failed to promptly address complaints made in 2015 against Nassar. USA Gymnastics had conducted its own internal investigation and then the organization s then-president, Stephen Penny, reported the allegations to the FBI s field office in Indianapolis. But it took months before the bureau opened a formal investigation.
At least 40 girls and women said they were molested over a 14-month period while the FBI was aware of other sexual abuse allegations involving Nassar. Officials at USA Gymnastics also contacted FBI officials in Los Angeles in May 2016 after eight months of inactivity from agents in Indianapolis.
By MICHAEL BALSAMO and ERIC TUCKER | Associated Press Jul 14, 2021
5 hrs ago
WASHINGTON (AP) â The FBI made numerous serious errors in investigating sexual abuse allegations against former USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar and didn t treat the case with the utmost seriousness, the Justice Department s inspector general said Wednesday. The FBI acknowledged conduct that was inexcusable and a discredit to America s premier law enforcement agency.
The long-awaited watchdog report raises serious questions about how the department and the FBI handled the case and it highlights serious missteps at the FBI between the time the allegations were first reported and Nassar s arrest.
FBI Mishandled Case of Convicted Sex Offender Larry Nassar: Justice Department Watchdog
The FBI mishandled allegations of sexual abuse against the now-convicted sex offender, former USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar, a Justice Department watchdog concluded.
Nassar, the main doctor for Olympic gymnasts, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 2017 on federal charges of possessing child sex abuse material. He was named in hundreds of lawsuits filed by female athletes who said that Nassar sexually abused them when he worked for Michigan State and Indiana-based USA Gymnastics. In 2018, Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years and up to 125 years in two separate Michigan courts on sexual abuse charges in Michigan.
AP News in Brief at 12:03 a.m. EDT
by The Associated Press
Last Updated Jul 15, 2021 at 12:15 am EDT
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Justice Dept. watchdog: FBI seriously mishandled Nassar case
USA Gymnastics contacted the FBI about the allegations in July 2015, but it took months before the agency opened a formal investigation. Author: MICHAEL BALSAMO and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press Published: 4:15 PM EDT July 14, 2021 Updated: 6:19 PM EDT July 14, 2021
WASHINGTON
The video above is from Jan. 2020.
The FBI made “fundamental” errors in investigating sexual abuse allegations against former USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar and did not treat the case with the “utmost seriousness,” the Justice Department s inspector general said Wednesday. More athletes said they were molested before the the FBI swung into action.