Nassar, who had been closely working for the US women's national gymnastics team from 1986 to 2014, was accused and convicted of sexually assaulting over 330 women during his career.
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Years of sexual abuse
Four of those women, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Simone Biles detailed the gruesome abuse they fell victim to—and the disregard from the FBI after reports were filed. Simone Biles, largely considered to be one of the most prolific athletes of today, said:
I blame Larry Nassar, and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated [sic] his abuse. If you allow a predator to harm children, the consequences will be swift and severe.
According to all four women, the FBI's handling of the case against Nassar was abysmal—not only were they inefficient, they also covered and allowed him to continue abusing young girls. Aly Raisman, who served as captain at the US Olympic gymnastics teams in 2012 and 2016, said:
[I'm] still fighting for the most basic answers and accountability more than six years after first reporting her abuse. Over the past few years it has become painfully clear how a survivor's healing is affected by the handling of their abuse.
She further accused the FBI of not taking the matter seriously enough and being responsible for the abuse to be carried on longer than necessary. McKayla Maroney, gold medalist at the London Olympic games, corroborated Raisman's accusations by saying that:
They chose to fabricate, to lie about what I said and protect a serial child molester What is the point of reporting abuse if our own FBI agents are going to take it upon themselves to bury that report in a drawer?
The FBI's response
FBI Director Christopher Wray has since apologised extensively for the lack of accountability and pledged back in 2017 to never allow a similar situation to repeat itself.
The two FBI officials involved in tampering with evidence against Nassar no longer work for the law enforcement agency—one was fired and the other retired before being able to be reprimanded.
