Congress Passes Bill to Protect and Improve Treatment of Child Sex Assault Survivors in FBI Investigations

United States gymnasts Simone Biles (L), McKayla Maroney (2L), Aly Raisman (2R) and Maggie Nichols (R), wait to testify during a Senate Judiciary on the FBI's handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill, in Washington, on Sept. 15, 2021. Saul Loeb/Pool via AP, File

For nearly 20 years, Larry Nassar used his role as a physician employed by Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics to, under the guise of performing medical treatment, sexually assault female athletes, most of whom were gymnasts and many who were minors when the abuse began.

Among the hundreds of Nassar victims—at least 265 women have accused him of sexual assault—were members of U.S. Olympic and national gymnastics teams.

When survivors of the abuse came forward and told USA Gymnastics and law authorities of Nassar’s crimes, it was the start of a long road of healing and securing justice.

Former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar addresses the court during the sentencing phase in Ingham County Circuit Court in Lansing, Mich., on Jan. 24, 2018. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

The courageous actions of the women resulted in Larry Nassar being sent to prison for life, with a federal sentence of 60 years handed down in 2017—and, in 2018, two convictions in Michigan for which he received sentences in state prison of 40 to 175 years, and 40 to 125 years.

And, yet, for the women who stood up and came forward, the healing and the justice also required trauma in the form of remembering the abuse, seeking to tell and relate details of what happened. They initially received little response and concern from USA Gymnastics, and say they were ignored by the FBI.

When the FBI undertook an investigation and conducted research and interviews with the survivors, the women often spoke with FBI male agents who had little to no training in interviewing victims of sex crimes. Victims were sometimes treated coldly and abruptly as they described to agents specifics of the most personal violation.

Bringing the FBI to Task

This treatment was the motivation and impetus behind federal legislation, the “Respect for Child Survivors Act,” which passed in the U.S. Senate on Dec. 13 and the House on Dec. 21 and is now on its way to the desk of President Joe Biden.

Lead sponsor of the bill was Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who introduced it to the Senate in September. Co-sponsoring the bill were Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

On the occasion of the House passing the Act, Cornyn’s office issued a release explaining that the bill would “improve the treatment of FBI child victim witnesses by requiring trauma-informed experts to be a part of any interview of a victim who reports child abuse or trafficking to the FBI.”

In the release, Cornyn said that the “legislation requires the FBI to include trauma-informed experts in interviews with victims to ensure they are not re-traumatized during the interview process, and I urge President Biden to swiftly sign it into law.”

Child welfare and advocacy organizations publicly supporting the bill include The Army of Survivors, Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), National Children’s Alliance, and the National District Attorney Association (NDAA).

Powerful Testimony

A moment that would jumpstart activity resulting in bringing about the “Respect for Child Survivors Act” took place in a hearing of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 15, 2021.

In that hearing, four elite U.S. gymnasts who were also survivors of Nassar assaults—Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols, and Aly Raisman—delivered emotional and detailed testimony.

They spoke about FBI neglect in following up on their complaints—and how, when the FBI did respond, it acted callously and lied in its reports.

The women gave their testimony on the invitation of the Judiciary Committee, which was responding to an Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report that presented and documented widespread deceit, mismanagement, and dereliction of duty in the FBI response and handling of the women’s complaints.

Particularly pointed and riveting was the testimony of McKayla Maroney.

“What I am trying to bring to your attention today is something incredibly disturbing and illegal,” said Maroney, who was 13 when Nassar began to molest her.

“After telling my entire story of abuse to the FBI in the summer of 2015, not only did the FBI not report my abuse, but when they eventually documented my report 17 months later, they made entirely false claims about what I said.”

Maroney explained that her conversation with the FBI took place over the phone because she “was too sick to meet with anyone in person, and talking about this abuse would give me PTSD for days.”

She shared information of the experience of being on the call for three hours with the FBI and how she “answered all of their questions honestly and clearly, and I disclosed all of my molestations I had endured by Nassar to them in extreme detail.”

Maroney told the FBI how Larry Nassar drugged her on a flight to Tokyo and then assaulted her after arriving in the city.

“I told them I walked the halls of the Tokyo hotel at 2 a.m. at only 15 years old. I began crying at the memory over the phone—and there was just dead silence. I was so shocked at the agent’s silence and disregard for my trauma; after that minute of silence, he asked, ‘Is that all?’”

Courageous Women

On the evening of July 18, 2018, 141 women survivors—“sister survivors”—stood on stage at the ESPYS at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles to accept the Arthur Ashe Courage Award on behalf of the hundreds of survivors of Nassar.

Among them and speaking for the women that night was Sarah Klein, former gymnast, attorney, and advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, who 30 years prior had been one of Nassar’s first victims.

“Speaking up and speaking out is not easy. Telling our stories of abuse over and over and over again in graphic detail is not easy,” said Klein. “We’re sacrificing privacy; we’re being judged and scrutinized, and it’s grueling and it’s painful, but it is time.

“As a mother, I am here to say that we must start caring about children’s safety more than we care about adults’ reputations.”