Just in case you happen to have been living under a rock for the last few years – Larry Nassar is in jail for the rest of his life, and doctors are coming under increased scrutiny now that doctor/patient sexual abuse is under the spotlight on a national level. But the ripples from the Nassar case have spread far and wide since his victims started coming forward.
MSU lost a president, athletic coaches, and several board members. The USA Gymnastics CEO was arrested and charged, and the organization has been ‘pariahed’ on social media ever since. But did you know the FBI has been lumped in with that list of organizations accused of not handling the case properly?
The untouchable FBI is now under the spotlight…
In addition to investigating two Olympic organizations in connection with how they handled sex abuse allegations (The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the U.S. Center for SafeSport) the Department of Justice is also investigating the FBI. According to media sources, the inquiry has to do specifically with how the Bureau responded to reports of abuse by Nassar.
Records show that USA Gymnastics was made aware of possible sexual abuse by Nassar in June of 2015. Five weeks later, the organization has records to prove that they reported the allegations to the FBI. However, the bureau seems to have done nothing about the allegations for almost a year. And USA Gymnastics never made a formal statement of any kind.
What will happen to the FBI if incompetence or negligence is discovered?
The answer: we have no idea. How does one penalize the FBI? Is it even possible to hold such a massive and secretive government agency accountable? That remains to be seen. What we do know is that DOJ has not made any kind of timeline public with regards to the investigation. In other words, they’ll take as long as they need to, and get done when they get done.
According to John Manly, the attorney who represented many of Nassar’s victims, “The US Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, the FBI, their senior executives, and others who enabled Larry Nassar’s abuse of our Olympic athletes and hundreds of other young girls must be brought to justice.”
Sex abuse allegations will be treated differently after the Nassar scandal
Where before victims who spoke up were sometimes seen as “rocking the boat” or “making a big deal out of nothing”, now sex abuse victims have a better chance of being heard when they speak up about their experiences. However, while that’s a great thing for the actual victims, for doctors and other professionals who are falsely accused, it’s not great at all.
If you or a loved one have been accused of sexually abusing a child in any way, call The Kronzek Firm immediately at 866 766 5245. Our skilled and experienced child abuse defense attorneys have spent decades helping people fight false allegations. We can help you too.