FBI Agents Who ‘Mishandled’ Larry Nassar Investigation Will Not Face Charges, DOJ Says

Breaking Business FBI Agents Who ‘Mishandled’ Larry Nassar Investigation Will Not Face Charges, DOJ Says Zachary Snowdon Smith Forbes Staff I cover breaking news for Forbes. May 26, 2022, 07:29pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Two former FBI agents who “mishandled” an investigation into Larry Nassar, who sexually abused numerous girls while serving as doctor to the U. S.

women’s national gymnastic team, will not face federal criminal charges for their actions, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. Former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images Key Facts The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has “serious concerns” about the former agents, who may have provided the department with inaccurate or incomplete information regarding the Nassar investigation, the department said in a statement .

However, available evidence isn’t sufficient to bring a federal criminal case against the agents, the department said, affirming a previous decision not to bring charges. The decision does not reflect a belief that the agents’ investigation into Nassar was properly handed, the DOJ said. Thursday’s announcement did not name W.

Jay Abbott, former special agent in charge of the bureau’s Indianapolis field office, or Michael Langeman, former supervisory special agent, the agents first assigned to investigate abuse allegations against Nassar in 2015. In a 2021 report , the OIG concluded that Abbott and other Indianapolis agents allegedly conducted a sluggish and incomplete investigation of Nassar in 2015 which they then tried to cover up. Nassar was not charged until 2016, after the Indianapolis Star reported some of the allegations against him.

Some of Nassar’s victims accused the FBI of enabling Nassar to continue abusing his patients for 16 months through its ineffectual investigation. Tangent Abbott retired from the FBI in 2018 and Langeman was fired in 2021 after the OIG’s highly critical report was released. Former FBI agents Jane Turner and Mike German told HuffPost in 2021 that the FBI’s botched handling of the Nassar case was due to “patriarchal” attitudes at the bureau.

“I was not surprised by the way the FBI handled Nassar,” Turner told HuffPost. “That’s the FBI’s culture. ” Key Background Nassar was one of the world’s most prominent sports doctors prior to his arrest in 2016, following accusations from hundreds of girls and women that he sexually abused them, sometimes attempting to disguise his conduct as medical treatment.

After pleading guilty to 10 counts of sexual assault and child pornography charges, Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison. The FBI is not the only organization accused of allowing Nassar to get away with misconduct—517 athletes, including gymnastics superstar Simone Biles , sued USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for the sport, for allegedly failing to investigate Nassar adequately. The athletes’ lawsuit was settled in December for $380 million.

Further Reading “FBI ‘Mishandled’ Investigation Into Disgraced Gymnastics Coach Larry Nassar, DOJ Says” (Forbes) Follow me on LinkedIn . Send me a secure tip . Zachary Snowdon Smith Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.