Larry Nassar Sexual Abuse Survivor Jessica Howard Slams FBI After Agency ‘Fumbled’ Investigation

The FBI is under fire after the Department of Justice released a new investigation, which revealed the agency initially ignored sexual abuse allegations made against former USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar and later attempted to cover up its errors.

The 119-page DOJ report found the FBI failed to investigate serious allegations made against Nassar. In 2015, several gymnasts reported Nassar’s misconduct to the FBI in Indianapolis.

It took the agency eight months before taking any action against the doctor. The DOJ investigation, launched in 2018, found the FBI offices in Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Portland, Maine, showed “extremely poor judgment,” which allowed Nassar to continue his sexual abuse.

On Thursday, former Team USA gymnast Jessica Howard, one of the women Nassar sexually abused, slammed the FBI for failing to thoroughly investigate the early allegations made against the doctor.

“I guess I’ve come to expect that nothing will be done, but again, you’re talking about the FBI — the FBI is one of the most trusted institutions in our country,” Howard said during an appearance on “CBS This Morning.”

“So it’s not that they just messed up, it’s not that they fumbled around and messed up, they actually have affected the lives of at least 70 to 120 young girls.”

The report also revealed that two FBI officials lied to cover up their mistakes. While one of the agents has since retired, the agency said it has launched an internal investigation into the other agent who “is no longer a supervisor.”

“It’s astounding how massive it is,” Howard said. “But it is not people messing up. It’s people turning away. It’s people not paying attention. It’s people deciding not to act. And that, to me is the most heinous, heinous way you can treat a child.”

More than 330 women and girls have accused Nassar of sexual abuse. The doctor later received a de facto life sentence that includes 40 to 175 years for sexually assaulting minors and a 60-year sentence for child pornography.