Larry Nassar victims settle legal battle for $380m
The settlement comes after a 5-year legal battle
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Your support makes all the difference.The victims of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar habe reached a settlement with USA Gymnastics, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee and their insurers for $380m.
The women who accused Nassar of sexual abuse – including Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney – have been fighting their legal battle against the doctor for five years.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the settlement.
Nassar was convicted in federal court in 2017 and sentenced to 60 years in prison for possession of child sex abuse material. The next year he was also sentenced for up to 175 years and up to 125 years, respectively, for molesting female gymnasts he was treating.
During the trial, the gymnasts who were assaulted recounted their experiences and also criticised USA Gymnastics and Olympic officials for their failure to stop Nassar's abuse. The women also accused the FBI of botching its investigation into Nassar.
In 2018, USA Gymnastics filed for bankruptcy after it began facing lawsuits tied to Nassar's abuses.
According to The Wall Street Journal, TiG Insurance has agreed to pay a large portion of the settlement money.
The victims also won a settlement from Michigan State University in May 2018 for $500m, bringing the total in settlement payouts to $880m, the largest combined payout tied to a single perpetrator in a sexual assault case.
"This settlement is the result of the bravery of hundreds of survivors who, despite legal obstacles, long odds and the best corporate legal talent money can buy, refused to be silent. The power of their story eventually won the day," John Manly, the attorney representing more than 180 survivors of Nassar's abuse, said.
He said that of the thousands of cases he has worked on in his career, "this is one I'm most proud of."
Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar, commented on the settlement agreement on her Twitter page on Monday. .
"This chapter is finally closed. Now the hard work of reform and rebuilding can begin. Whether or not justice comes, and change is made, depends on what happens next," she tweeted.
USA Gymnastics has agreed to establish a restorative justice program aimed at providing survivors with significant influence over how the organisation addressed sexual assault claims in the future.
According to ESPN, Mick Grewal, an attorney who represented dozens of the survivors, said the restorative justice program was an essential part of the settlement agreement for his clients.
"The restorative justice process that's part of this plan, you can't buy that," he said. "It will be the gold standard for every institution that has a sexual assault problem."
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