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U.S. Gymnasts reach $380 million settlement in Larry Nassar sexual abuse case

The former U.S. gymnastics-affiliated doctor is currently serving the equivalent of life in prison for abusing hundreds of gymnasts over several decades

Published: December 13, 2021 1:17pm

Updated: December 13, 2021 2:48pm

The organizations at the head of U.S. gymnastics have agreed to a $380 million payout for the victims of longtime team doctor Larry Nassar – a convicted child molester who sexually abused several members of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team, as well as hundreds of other aspiring gymnasts. He is currently serving 40-175 years in prison for his crimes. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that it is one of the largest-ever payouts for victims of a sexual abuse scandal. 

At a bankruptcy hearing on Monday, the final holdout insurer – TIG Insurance Company – agreed to pay a substantial share of the settlement. The total figure also includes direct contributions of millions of dollars from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and USA Gymnastics.

Olympic gold medalists including Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, and Aly Raisman, all of whom testified earlier this year before a Senate panel about the abuse they suffered, are among the claimants. 

During their testimony, each gymnast offered an indictment of the FBI investigation that failed to address complaints of Nassar's systematic abuse. 

"To not indict these agents is a disservice to me and my teammates, a disservice to the system which is built to protect all of us from abuse," Maroney said about the agents who failed to properly execute the investigation.

The settlement also includes non-financial components, including a provision that requires self-identified survivors of abuse in gymnastics to receive official roles in the USA Gymnastics organization. 

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