The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) knew what was going on. They knew that nearly 100 children and young women gymnasts were being sexually abused by their team doctor. Under the guise of medical treatment for their training injuries, he did unimaginable things to their bodies. Some reported him to authorities. They did nothing to stop him, and his horrific crimes lasted for years, causing the gymnasts lasting physical and mental harm. Now 90 of the survivors are suing the FBI for mishandling their complaints and failing to protect them from severe and permanent damage.

The gymnasts, including Olympic standouts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and McKayla Maroney, filed a “Collective Administrative Claim” against the FBI on June 8 under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The Act became law in 1946 and was amended in 1988 to make federal employees immune from tort lawsuits in cases of negligence or omission in their duties. The U.S government is now the defendant.

Exhibit One of their complaint explains their suit is for the FBI’s “negligence in responding to the complaints of sexual abuse” by Lawrence Gerard Nassar (Larry Nassar).” Nassar is the USA Gymnastics (USAG) and Michigan State University (MSU) physician whose “continued sexual assaults” caused the claimants “to experience severe physical and emotional trauma, emotional distress and economic damages.”

The gymnasts must use the FTCA administrative procedure to redress their grievances instead of the courts and traditional justice system because government employees like FBI agents have immunity. The FTCA allows suits for “money damages against the United States because of…personal injury or death, caused by negligence or wrongful act or omission by government employees.” FTCA claims must be instituted and denied before being allowed to refile in an appropriate U.S. court.

While the FTCA allows suits, the decision to let them proceed is discretionary and contains a number of exceptions that detail when such suits can go forward. These exceptions could pose a serious stumbling block to the gymnasts’ suit. One section says that “with regard to acts or omissions of investigative or law enforcement officers of the United States government, the provisions of this chapter…shall apply to any claim …for abuse of process.” Since the FBI is a law enforcement office of the government, those who decide whether claims can proceed will have to first decide whether the FBI abused its discretion when handling the case.

One former Department of Justice attorney who defended the government in FTCA cases is skeptical of the gymnasts’ chances, believing it will be difficult to show the FBI agents abused their discretion when they failed to take action.

The gymnasts’ complaint, which seeks $10 million for each claimant, begins with a recitation of the grim facts. It states that “On July 28, 2015, the FBI possessed credible complaints from numerous sources and corroborating evidence of Nassar’s sexual assaults of young women and children over the course of a number of years across the globe.” It goes on to explain that “FBI officials possessed this knowledge and were in a position to end Nassar’s predation, were grossly derelict in their duties resulting in Nassar sexually assaulting approximately 100 young women and children between July 28, 2015, and September 12, 2016,” when Nassar was finally arrested.

It goes on to explain that the FBI is not alone in its gross negligence because it “conspired with high-ranking officials within the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee…and U.S. Gymnastics.” According to their websites, the Olympic Committee is responsible for “supporting, entering, and overseeing U.S. teams for the Olympic Games” and other elite competitions.” US Gymnastics, headquartered in Indianapolis, is “the national governing body for the sport,” having been given this responsibility by the US. Olympic Committee. The gymnasts’ administrative claim says that the FBI conspired with the two organizations to conceal this known sexual abuse from foreseeable victims.”

The FBI is not supposed to do this. The complaint details how the Bureau has a “duty to properly investigate” complaints, to tell the truth about the status of investigation, to properly handle evidence and to timely report criminal conduct to appropriate state law enforcement and child protective services.” According to the complaint, they did none of these things.

The claim form, submitted by six of the victims on behalf of all the “Nassar Survivors,” went on to explain that “even minimal compliance with these mandatory duties would have prevented harm to Claimants.”

The Nassar Survivors based their claim on two 2021 reports by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in the Department of Justice as well as testimony before the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate., which reviewed the OIG’s report entitled: Dereliction of Duty: Examining the IG’s Report of the FBI’s Handling of the Larry Nassar Investigation.

The claim provides a history of how, beginning in June 2015, USAG officials were informed of the “uncomfortable” treatment of USAG team members by Nassar in several states. They subsequently conducted an “internal investigation,” then hired a private investigator who interviewed Raisman, Biles, Maroney and other teammates who heard “unambiguous claims about sexual abuse.” Neither USAG nor investigators made any reports to law enforcement.

Four months later, in October 2015, USAG officials reported allegations against Nassar to their local FBI office in Indianapolis. It named the three FBI agents who were responsible for the “gross mishandling of the Nassar investigation.” USAG said they provided a detailed Memorandum of these investigations to the FBI, but when questioned by the OIG, it was not in the file, and one agent “could not recall seeing it.” USAG then barred Nassar from all of its sanctioned events and created a false narrative that said he was retiring. He retained his position at MSU, where according to the complaint, the FBI “was fully aware he remained free to ‘treat’ young woman.”

In September 2015, Maroney spoke with one of the FBI investigators for over two hours, during which she detailed Nassar’s sexual abuse that began when she was 13. The agent did not file the required “official record of a witness interview.” The Indianapolis FBI said it had “no geographical connection” to the alleged crimes and doubted whether the allegations against Nassar “were sufficient to support federal jurisdiction.” They made no reports to law enforcement and failed to transfer the case to their Lansing, Michigan office, which was in the same city as MSU.

Finally, after a search of his home by Lansing FBI agents turned up 37,000 images of child pornography and the newspapers started reporting his sexual crimes against gymnasts, Nassar was arrested. He pled guilty to seven counts of criminal conduct. But, according to the complaint, the FBI’s reprehensible activities did not end with his arrest and conviction. The Agency and USAG continued to lie about their actions or inactions regarding the claimants, which included illegal meetings with the FBI. The claim says the Indianapolis FBI continued to provide “distortions, half-truths and outright lies about the handling of the Nassar investigation” to 60 Minutes and other media.

The FTCA claim has been filed. The 90 claimants now await the decision about whether the FBI abused its discretion through its alleged negligent treatment of the sexual abuse complaints of nearly 100 young women. There will be a long path before they learn how much their damaged lives are worth and who, if anyone, will repay them for Nassar’s behavior and the subsequent ignoring and mishandling of their shocking stories.