Gym stars blast officials over abuse by Nassar

WASHINGTON • Olympic champion Simone Biles and other top American gymnasts excoriated US sports officials and the FBI in powerful Senate testimony on Wednesday for failing to act promptly on complaints about Larry Nassar, the former team doctor convicted of serial sexual abuse.

"We have been failed and we deserve answers," the 24-year-old Biles, a seven-time Olympic medallist, told an emotional hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar but I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse."

Nassar, 58, was sentenced to life in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting women and girls while working as a team doctor at USA Gymnastics (USAG) and Michigan State University (MSU).

USAG reported Nassar to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in July 2015, but he continued to work at MSU and sexually abused at least 70 more women until a newspaper exposed him in September 2016. Hundreds of women have accused him of sexual abuse over his more than two-decade career in sports medicine.

Biles and the three other gymnasts - McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols - testified that they were let down by the FBI, USAG and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

"We suffered and continue to suffer because no one at the FBI, USAG or USOPC did what was necessary to protect us," said Biles, who had to halt her testimony at several points to wipe away tears.

Maroney, who won a team gold medal at the 2012 London Games, said she reported the abuse in a three-hour telephone interview with an FBI agent in 2015 but it was "minimised and disregarded".

"Not only did the FBI not report my abuse," she said, "but when they eventually documented my report 17 months later, they made false claims about what I said."

"They allowed a child molester to go free for more than a year," the 25-year-old added. "They had legal, legitimate evidence of child abuse and did nothing."

The Justice Department's Inspector-General published a scathing report in July about the mishandling of the accusations against Nassar by the FBI's field office in Indianapolis. According to the report, its agents failed to take the allegations seriously and investigate them right away.

Raisman, 27, former captain of the Olympic gold medal-winning 2012 and 2016 teams, said stopping Nassar's abuse should have been a priority but it took over 14 months for the FBI to contact her.

She said the delay was "like serving innocent children up to a paedophile on a silver platter".

Nichols, 24, who won a gold medal at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, added: "I am haunted by the fact that even after I reported my abuse so many women and girls had to suffer at the hands of Larry Nassar."

FBI director Christopher Wray also testified before the Senate panel but in a separate session. He apologised to the gymnasts and others abused by Nassar for the FBI's mishandling of the investigation.

"In no planet is what happened in this case acceptable," he said. "And I am especially sorry that there were people at the FBI who had their own chance to stop this monster back in 2015 and failed. That is inexcusable."

Wray said the senior agent in Indianapolis who failed to properly investigate Nassar had retired while another agent had been fired.

In a statement, the USOPC said it remains "completely dedicated to the safety and well-being" of its athletes, and it has implemented reforms after hiring a law firm to conduct an independent investigation.

USAG did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS