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The U.S. Justice Department will pay out $138.7 million to settle claims brought by 139 victims of former Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar over the department’s failure to promptly investigate allegations of sexual assault.
Nassar, who also worked as a team doctor at Michigan State University, was convicted of possessing child pornography and of sexually assaulting hundreds of women over a period of more than a decade. He is effectively serving a life sentence in prison.
In 2018, Michigan State paid out $500 million to settle with more than 300 of Nassar’s victims. The university also paid a $4.5 million fine to the Education Department for mishandling students’ claims of assault by Nassar.
The Justice Department settlement marks the resolution of the last major lawsuit over Nassar’s abuses, The Washington Post reported. It brings the total amount paid by assorted institutions to Nassar’s victims to nearly $1 billion.
“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 statement. “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.”
