Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney Testify on Handling of Abuse Case

Gymnasts Testify At Hearing On FBI’s Handling Of Larry Nassar’s Case

Larry Nassar, Simone Biles, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Aly Raisman, Artistic gymnastics, McKayla Maroney

In vivid and emotional testimony McKayla Moroney said Nassar “turned out to be more of a pedophile than he was a doctor.”

She recalled sitting on her bedroom floor in 2015 telling the FBI on the phone “all of my molestations in extreme detail.” She said after describing instances of abuse including prior to her winning the team gold medal at the London Olympics, “I cried, and there was just silence.” She said the FBI then falsified her statement, said the agents involved should be indicted and criticized Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco for not appearing at the hearing.

“I am tired of waiting for people to do the right thing,” Moroney said.

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles tearfully said she blames Nassar and also “an entire system that allowed his abuse,” including USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

“The scars of this horrific abuse continue,” Biles testified, and said “the impact of this man’s abuse will never be over.”

USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal: FBI fires agent ahead of Senate testimony

U.S. Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman and Simone Biles expected to testify

The FBI has fired the agent who sources say did not properly pursue tips about now-disgraced USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar, just hours before Director Christopher Wray and Olympic athletes are expected to testify about their experience with the doctor and the agency, Fox News can confirm.

Wray, who was not at the helm of the bureau at the time of the agent’s mishandling of the case, is expected to make the announcement during his approximately 11:15 a.m. testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. U.S. Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman and Simone Biles are also expected to testify.

In July, the Justice Department’s inspector general found that the FBI made “fundamental” errors in investigating sexual abuse allegations of Nassar and did not treat the case with the “utmost seriousness.”

WATCH LIVE: Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, other gymnasts testify about Larry Nassar abuse investigation

Gymnasts testify as Congress investigates FBI’s handling of Larry Nassar sexual abuse

U.S. elite gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman are testifying before Congress Wednesday about what they say were failures in FBI’s handling of the sexual abuse case against Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics team doctor.

Nassar, a former doctor, was sentenced in 2018 to up to 175 years in prison for sexually assaulting hundreds of girls and women.

“We have been failed and we deserve answers,” Biles said Wednesday, fighting back tears during parts of her testimony. “Nassar is where he belongs, but those who enabled him deserve to be held accountable. If they are not, I am convinced that this will continue to happen to others across Olympic sports.”

The hearing was held as the Senate Judiciary Committee is now investigating the FBI’s handling of the Nassar case.

A Justice Department inspector general report released this July found the FBI made “fundamental errors” in its response to allegations against Nassar, which were first brought to the agency in July 2015.

The scathing report accuses FBI field offices in Indianapolis and Los Angeles of failing to respond thoroughly to allegations against Nassar, which allowed him to continue to work with gymnasts at Michigan State University as well as a high school and a gymnastics club in Michigan.

During the 15 months of alleged inaction by the FBI, Nassar sexually abused at least 70 young athletes, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said at Wednesday’s hearing, citing information from the inspector general’s report.

“In reviewing the inspector general’s report, it truly feels like the FBI turned a blind eye to us and went out of its way to help protect USAG (USA Gymnastics) and USOPC (United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee),” Biles said before Congress. “A message needs to be sent. If you allow a predator to harm children, the consequences will be swift and severe. Enough is enough.”

The FBI responded to the inspector general’s report by saying the inaction by the FBI field offices “should not have happened.”

Simone Biles and Teammates Testify on F.B.I.’s Handling of Abuse Case

Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols are testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee review of the Lawrence G. Nassar sexual abuse investigation

Simone Biles, Other Gymnasts Testify On FBI’s Nassar Probe

McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols are expected to tell a Senate panel about the lasting effects of abuse by a Team USA doctor.

Elite gymnasts Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols are scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday on the FBI’s handling of the investigation of Larry Nassar. The hearing began at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Nassar, the former Olympic Team USA gymnastics doctor, is serving what amounts to life in prison — 40 to 175 years — after more than 160 women accused him of sexually abusing them under the pretense of medical treatment.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz and FBI Director Christopher Wray are also expected to testify Wednesday.

The hearings were spurred by a Department of Justice watchdog report in July documenting dozens of instances in which the FBI mishandled the Nassar case. The report raised serious questions about how the Justice Department and the FBI handled the case, and the missteps at the FBI between the time the allegations were first reported and Nassar’s arrest.

The inspector general’s investigation began following allegations that the FBI failed to promptly address complaints made in 2015 against Nassar. USA Gymnastics had conducted its own internal investigation; and then the organization’s then-president, Stephen Penny, reported the allegations to the FBI’s field office in Indianapolis. But it took months before the bureau opened a formal investigation.