U.S. gymnasts: FBI ignored reports of abuse

Elite gymnasts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Maggie Nichols, and McKayla Maroney opened Senate hearings with testimonies of FBI inaction. Nichols said the FBI did not interview her until more than a year had passed since she reported former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar for inappropriate touching. Raisman said the agency waited 14 months to contact her after she asked to be interviewed. Maroney and Biles called for criminal charges against FBI agents who disregarded their allegations. A July inspector general probe estimated Nassar molested at least 70 women and girls after initial accusations were brought forward in 2015. Nassar received a 175-year prison sentence in 2018 for molesting hundreds of athletes.

What is the FBI doing? Director Christopher Wray apologized for the delays. He denounced two agents who failed to properly investigate allegations and then lied. One supervisory agent, W. Jay Abbott, retired shortly before the Department of Justice began an internal review. The probe revealed victims and USA Gymnastics reported Nassar months before the FBI opened a formal investigation. Another agent was fired shortly before the hearings began.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s report on the Netflix documentary Athlete A, which shed light on how the sexual abuse crisis evolved in gymnastics.