“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.”
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that it had reached settlements with victims sexually abused by former physician and United States Gymnastics official Larry Nasser.
A total of $138.7 million will be paid out to those impacted by his actions.
"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 press release. "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."
Nassar sexually abused hundreds of girls while claiming to be providing medical treatment for a period of nearly 20 years before he was finally apprehended in 2016. Before then, girls who spoke out about their experiences had largely been ignored.
Federal Bureau of Investigations Director Christopher Wray has since formally apologized to Nassar's victims for the agency's failure to properly handle their allegations.
In 2018, he was sentenced to between 40 and 125 years in federal prison for sexual abuse in Eaton County, Michigan and 40 to 175 years in a separate county. Those terms will be served following his 60 year sentence handed down the year before for a separate child pornography case.
He was originally housed at the US Penitentiary in Coleman, Florida, but authorities transferred him to a facility in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania after he was stabbed in the back numerous times by a fellow inmate.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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