DGS49
Diamond Member
Nassar survivors seek more than $1B from FBI
Former Olympic gymnasts, including gold medalist Simone Biles, are among dozens of sexual assault survivors who are seeking more than $1 billion from the FBI for failing to stop sports doctor Larry Nassar.
This is one the most nauseating episodes in the history of sports and law. Dr. Nassar, a physician-guru in the world of girls' gymnastics, was employed to evaluate, treat, manipulate, and rehabilitate injured gymnasts from the University of Michigan and various other sponsoring organizations, including the U.S. Olympic team. Personal testimony and other evidence have proved that he "sexually assaulted" hundreds of gymnasts and other athletes, despite credible complaints from very early on in his medical activities. Indeed, he continued with his nefarious activities for years (indeed, decades) after he was first credibly accused, because various "authorities" declined to take the complaints seriously, given Nassar's credentials and sterling reputation.
Definitely a bad guy.
Unfortunately, the expression "sexual assault" covers such a broad spectrum of activity that these accusations raise more questions than they answer. Did he ever have sexual intercourse with these girls - consensual or otherwise? No. Did he perform oral sex on them, or force them to perform oral sex on him? No. Anal? Certainly not. The actual assaults apparently consisted of him inserting his ungloved fingers where they didn't belong, admitting that there was no legitimate medical reason for doing so. One male has come forward, claiming that Nassar inserted acupuncture needles into his genitals. Now THAT is sexual assault!
The avalanche of complaints against Nassar arose as it did because most of his victims did not even realize that they had been "sexually assaulted" until they were told about it. With the kerfuffle raised by THESE activities, can you even IMAGINE what would have happened if he had actually had sexual intercourse with them? Can infinity be quantified in dollars?
Hmm.
(Parenthetically, Nassar will be in jail for several lifetimes, not only for his touchy-feely, but also for a gazillion counts of child porn violations).
Hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars have already been shelled out by organizations and insurance companies to the victims of his sexual assaults...and their lawyers.
Now comes this complaint against the FBI, demanding a cool Billion to FURTHER compensate these poor girls, whose lives along with the lives of their family members, their heirs, successors and assigns, have been totally ruined. At least that is what is claimed.
When I was in law school, I thought I learned that the FEDERAL Bureau of Investigation was the law enforcement arm of the FEDERAL government, and their mission was - in very general terms - to enforce FEDERAL laws, for example, securities violations, "hate" crimes, immigration and naturalization crimes, and so on. Sexual assault, no matter how it is defined, is NOT a Federal crime. It is entirely a matter for the States to address. The basic claim against the FBI here is that some of Nassar's victims told the FBI about his activities, and they didn't do anything about it.
As a former Federal government employee, I am acutely aware of the phenomenon of "NOT MY JOB." People would meet me and when they learned that I worked for "the government," they would ask me question about everything from school taxes to controlled substance laws. Not my job...sorry. When the FBI agents were advised of Nassar's activities, the appropriate response would have been to refer them to the state police.
Filing a lawsuit like this should be a crime.
