On the 15th local time, American gymnasts Simone Byers, McKayla Maroni, Ali Lesman and Maggie Nichols provided testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee accusing team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual assault. The former TEAM usabind team doctor is accused of assaulting more than 200 women, including even multiple children. Larry was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl and is currently serving a life sentence in prison.
(Simone Byers says Larry should be blamed.)
At the hearing, the four injured athletes complained to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the abuses they had suffered and the irresponsible handling of the phenomenon within the gymnastics team. Byers said: "I hate Larry, and I hate the whole system for indulging what he does. If this society allows the strong to harm children, the consequences will be severe. Gymnastics yuan Maggie Nichols also testified about Larry's crimes, and she was the first victim to report a team doctor sexual assault to the American Gymnastics Association.
(Four athletes testified in court)
While condemning the FBI's inaction, the gymnastics women have made harsh criticism of the leadership of USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee. "We failed and we deserve the answer." Biles, 24, said. She was the recipient of seven Olympic medals and the most awarded gymnast in the history of the World Championships. Byers accused the FBI of "turning a blind eye" to the ongoing sexual assault. Maroni, who won the team gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, also said she reported Larry's sexual assault to the FBI in 2015, "They allowed Larry, the child molester, to go unpunished for more than a year, and they had legal evidence of Larry's child abuse, but they did nothing." ”
(Larry Nassar sentenced to life imprisonment)
Larry Nassar, 58, admitted in late 2017 and early 2018 to sexually assaulting women and girls while working as a team doctor on the U.S. Gymnastics Team and Michigan State University. Hundreds of women, including Olympians and college athletes, have accused Larry of sexually abusing them multiple times in her more than two decades of career. Maggie Nichols said: "Even after I reported the abuse I had suffered to the police, there were still a lot of women and girls who were being persecuted by Larry, which bothered me. ”
In response, Dick Debin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the FBI's handling of Larry's case was a stain on the bureau. Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal described the FBI's investigation as a "systematic" failure. FBI Director Christopher Wray apologized to those present for the "reprehensible conduct" and "FBI negligence" detailed in the report. He noted that last week, the oversight officer involved in the case was removed from his post, while another person involved retired before being disciplined. He acknowledged that the two officials' work on the case "violated the FBI's long-standing code of conduct," but Christoff promised to prohibit the recurrence of such mishandled incidents in the future.
Wednesday's hearing showed that the FBI's inaction in the Larry case had taken a devastating toll on young women, and that they were far from the only victims of the FBI's inaction. On the same day, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that President Biden supports the FBI's recommendation to implement the inspector general, which includes prompt coordination with other law enforcement agencies after staff receive reports of crimes against children, as well as training FBI staff.
Wuhan Morning Post intern reporter: Chen Mengting