Two former FBI special agents will not face federal criminal charges for their involvement in a botched investigation of sexual assault by Larry Nassar, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
A report released last year from the DOJ found two agents with the FBI in Indianapolis committed “fundamental errors” for not acting sooner on allegations of abuse by Nassar.
The department reviewed evidence gathered in the investigation by the agents before announcing Thursday that federal criminal charges will not be brought against them.
‘FBI failed survivors’:Massive systematic failures uncovered in DOJ’s Larry Nassar report
Related:What you should know about report on Indianapolis FBI’s handling of Larry Nassar case
“This decision comes after multiple reviews and analyses of evidence gathered in the investigation of the former agents, and reflects the recommendation of experienced prosecutors,” a news release from the DOJ states.
“This does not in any way reflect a view that the investigation of Nassar was handled as it should have been, nor in any way reflects approval or disregard of the conduct of the former agents,” the release stated.
Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics doctor was sentenced to more than 100 years imprisonment in 2018. More than three years later, the Justice Department’s Inspector General released a scathing report finding W. Jay Abbott, former head of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, and an unidentified FBI agent, didn’t respond for eight months when the first allegations against Nassar arrived at their office in 2015.
While their investigation lingered, Nassar sexually assaulted at least 120 women and children, according to John Manly, an attorney who represents Nassar survivors.
More coverage:Women abused by Larry Nassar file negligence claims against FBI over botched investigation
Pressure on the federal law enforcement agency started to rise after IndyStar first exposed the allegations against Nassar in 2016. When the Inspector General began to review how the Indianapolis FBI conducted its investigation, Abbott and the other agent made false statements “to make it appear that they had been diligent,” according to the federal government.
Abbott was also criticized for exhibiting “extremely poor judgment” because he discussed a job opportunity with USA Gymnastics at the same time his agency was looking into the Nassar allegations.
“While the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General has outlined serious concerns about the former agents’ conduct during the Nassar investigation, and also described how evidence shows that during interviews in the years after the events in question both former agents appear to have provided inaccurate or incomplete information to investigators, the Principles of Federal Prosecution require more to bring a federal criminal case,” the DOJ news release reads.
A copy of the Inspector General’s investigation can be found below.
Contact Jake Allen at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
Leave a Reply