Simone Biles is among dozens of women who have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The suit claims that the bureau did not stop sports doctor Larry Nassar following their reports of sexual abuse.
According to AP News, the legal team defending the women allege that the FBI knew about a 2015 incident in which Nassar was accused of sexually assaulting US gymnasts. It also states that because of their failure to act on the information , Nassar was able to target more young women and girls for over a year.
“If the FBI had simply done its job, Nassar would have been stopped before he ever had the chance to abuse hundreds of girls, including me,” former University of Michigan gymnast Samantha Roy told AP.
Biles alongside fellow Olympic gymnasts, Aly Raisman, and McKayla Maroney seek $50 million a piece, per the law firm currently representing them. World championship medalist Maggie Nichols is also among the group of claimants requesting the same amount.
Roughly 90 plaintiffs were named in the suit that also states that the “Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) possessed credible complaints from numerous sources and corroborating evidence of Dr. Larry Nassar’s (Nassar) sexual assaults of young women and children over the course of a number of years and across the globe.”
Last year, Biles took the stand at a hearing regarding the FBI’s mishandling of the case. and emotionally recounted the abuse she endured by Nassar.
“We suffered and continue to suffer because no one at FBI, USAG or the USOPC did what was necessary to protect us,” said Biles during the 2021 hearing. “We have been failed, and we deserve answers. Nassar is where he belongs, but those who enabled him deserve to be held accountable. If they are not, I am convinced that this will continue to happen to others across Olympic sports.”