Gymnasts sexually abused by Larry Nassar reach $380M settlement

The settlement – one of the largest ever recorded for victims of sex abuse – ends a five-year legal battle that erupted following the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the US Olympic movement.

More than 500 women – including Olympic gold medallists Simone Biles (pictured), Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney – accused Nassar of sexually abusing them throughout his career.
Reuters

More than 500 women – including Olympic gold medallists Simone Biles (pictured), Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney – accused Nassar of sexually abusing them throughout his career.

Victims of sexual abuse by former US gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar have reached a $380 million settlement with the USA Gymnastics governing body, US Olympic & Paralympic Committee and their insurers.

Monday’s settlement will cover claims brought, among others, by Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, who were among Nassar's most high-profile sexual abuse victims. 

According to court filings, more than 500 victims have sought compensation.

"USA Gymnastics is deeply sorry for the trauma and pain that Survivors have endured as a result of this organisation's actions and inactions," USAG President and CEO Li Li Leung said in a statement.

As part of the settlement, USA Gymnastics (USAG) and the Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) also agreed to designate some of their board seats to survivors and to implement other new policies aimed at protecting athletes from future abuse.

To get those reforms in place, the Olympic Committee committed to allocating $5 million.

"This settlement is about the brave survivors who came forward, forced these organisations to listen, and demanded change," Michelle Simpson Tuegel, who represents more than two dozen Nassar survivors, said in a joint statement with Tasha Schwikert Moser, co-chair of the Survivors Creditors Committee.

READ MORE: USA Gymnastics files for bankruptcy

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System of abuse

Biles, Raisman and Maroney testified about the abuse during a Senate hearing in September at which they blasted USA Gymnastics and Olympic officials for failing to stop Nassar. They also took the FBI to task over its botched investigation into Nassar's actions.

The Justice Department in October launched a fresh inquiry into the FBI's handling of the Nassar investigation after previously declining to prosecute the agents involved.

Nassar, the main doctor for Olympic gymnasts for 18 years, was sentenced in federal court in 2017 to 60 years in prison on charges of possessing child sex abuse material.

The following year, Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years and up to 125 years, respectively, in two separate Michigan courts for molesting female gymnasts under his care.

The settlement announced on Monday was reached after TIG Insurance agreed to pay a large portion of the money, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier.

USA Gymnastics voluntarily filed for bankruptcy in 2018 after Olympic bronze medalist Jamie Dantzscher filed a lawsuit and additional claims were filed on behalf of a growing number of Nassar's victims.

The terms of Monday's settlement deal, which were confirmed after a US bankruptcy court hearing in Indiana, will also enable USA Gymnastics to exit bankruptcy.

READ MORE: British gymnasts take legal action against governing body over abuse

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